In the spirit of Christmas, I decided to do this blog as a story about my favorite Christmas present. I have had many special gifts over the years, but my favorite gift actually came before Christmas. Anyone who knows me already knows how much I love dogs. My current dog, Charlie, is my best friend. He’s always close by and is a great listener. I love how he trusts me completely. I can drive right by him and he won’t move because he trusts I won’t hit him. Some people I’ve known my whole life still move their feet because they think I’ll run over them!
I was born into a family with a cocker spaniel, Molly. She was a great dog! I remember when she was very old and couldn’t hear, I could pat my chair and she would still come to me. There is a picture somewhere in our home of Molly and me sitting in a rocking chair together. There haven’t been many days when I didn’t have a dog in my life.
A week before Molly passed we got a new puppy, Magic. She was fun and was a member of our family for almost 20 years, but she was definitely my mom’s dog. I wanted another dog just for me. I would ask for one for Christmas. That was all I wanted and there would be no changing of my mind. Trust me, my parents tried, but eventually they decided it was good for me to have a puppy.
We had looked into service dogs before and knew Golden Retrievers were great companions. The waiting list was long, so we started shopping on our own. We found a litter of Goldens in the newspaper, which were 2 weeks old and just opening their eyes. Mom called the number and we went to their house the next day to see if my dog was in the litter.
The owners bought each puppy outside and put them down in the yard. My mom picked up each one, so I could see if I had that connection with any of them. One little female crawled under my wheelchair and just sat there while I met the other puppies. Mom picked her up and she immediately started sucking on my finger. I started to think she was the one, but I had to be sure and meet the others. When mom put her down, she went back under my chair. She was going home with me whether I wanted her or not! At that moment, I knew she was my dog (as did everyone else in that yard).
Of course, she wasn’t able to come home with me yet, but she would be ready by Christmas. I never thought Christmas would come! I tried to pass time thinking of names, but that didn’t take long. There was only one name for her; Molly. To those who have read My Online Angel, she inspired the character name.
Mom was getting as impatient as me, so one day she was late coming home. I was outside when she arrived, so she tried to hide my present under her coat, but it didn’t work. Molly was here! Mom put her down and she ran right up to me, climbed up on my foot rest, and just sat there. She knew she was home. Molly was my best friend for 12 years. I’ll never forget her and I’ll never forget that Christmas. She was my favorite Christmas gift.
I hope that all of you have a Merry Christmas!
