The Best Christmas Gift Ever

For Christmas in 2011, I became a dog-mama for the first time. Sadly, Charlie is no longer here, but that has nothing to do with the fact that he was a Christmas gift. Getting a dog for Christmas is generally frowned upon. But, there are also situations in which it is one of the best things in the world.

Why I Got My Dog

I had no pets growing up. My Mom did not want us to have any sort of pets. Luckily, I was able to play with friends’ and family members’ dogs, so it wasn’t too bad.

Fast-forward to my junior year of college. During the fall semester, I began experiencing extreme anxiety, depression, and migraines. Some of this had already existed, but it got significantly worse, most likely due to the fact that I’d just returned from studying abroad in London the previous summer.

One of my roommates dealing with anxiety issues, told me that she was going to be getting a therapy dog for Christmas. I immediately began researching. While I came home for Thanksgiving break I sat my Mom down and laid it all out. She said yes, and I was shocked.

Today, she says that after years of nagging she decided to just give in. I’d like to think that it’s more because I had a very good argument that not only was logical, and thought-out, but also had sciencetific proof to back it up. You can decide for yourself. I easily got my Dad on board. Now, I just had to find one.

Searching for a Dog

Knowing that I would be at school in an apartment, and would not have the time to properly train a puppy (or the experience), I decided I wanted to adopt a senior dog. I wanted him to be on the small side, and perfectly happy relaxing and sitting in my lap all day while I studied. Eventually, I found the perfect dogs. One listing had two maltese dogs available for adoption. They came from the same original owner, and described as ‘surrogate brothers.’

Professor Ping Pong and Professor Ding Dong (Yes, those were their real names) were maltese dogs that had been living with the same woman their entire lives. The elderly woman was ‘on the run’ because she did not want to live in an retirement facility and was living in various hotels. Somehow, her family got her the necessary care, and the dogs went to a foster mom.

Both dogs became Christmas gifts. Professor Ping Pong became a gift for a little girl in Boston. Professor Ding Dong, would be mine. His foster mom took him to a groomer prior to his ‘gotcha day.’ But, because his fur was so matted, most of it had to be shaved off.

The Beginning With Charlie

The day we picked up Charlie was surreal. My Dad came with me to pick him up. When we first saw him he was so scared and tiny. He was shaking out of fear, but also from the cold weather and his lack of fur. I took him into the car while my Dad finished up the paperwork and held him in my lap.

On our way home we picked up all the supplies we’d need for him, including some sweaters and jackets, and a stuffed monkey that he ended up sleeping with every night. When we brought him home we set up a little area for him and tried to make him comfortable, but he just wouldn’t stop shaking. Eventually he stopped, but it took several weeks and some hair growth.

The first few days were an experience. Not only was he drinking coffee on a regular basis in his former home, he really enjoyed it. He just stared at us as we held our mugs in our hands on Christmas morning. His previous ‘diet’ consisted of whatever his owner was eating at the time, even if it wasn’t good for dogs. Like chocolate.

But the best part? Potty training. Yes, Charlie was potty trained. Except, he only knew how to use a pee pad inside the house. Teaching him to go outside was rough, and while he did learn, he never fully stopped going inside. This was not fun. Everyone in the house eventually became very familiar with our big carpet cleaner.

Life With Charlie

Even though Charlie went potty all over the house, he was a charmer. He knew how to make you fall in love with him minutes after meeting him. The first few nights he was to sleep downstairs, and all night we’d hear this strange sound. It was as if there was a cow in the house. That 6 pound furball didn’t howl, and didn’t really bark. He moo-ed. But, once he was brought upstairs to sleep in my room, he settled in and fell asleep almost immediately. Then, I learned just how loudly he could snore. Luckily, I was able to sleep through that…usually.

Despite his size, Charlie had a love for walks. And hikes. He had no problem going for several miles on trails in the nearby state park. He would look like something out of a cartoon when it was over, but he loved it. Charlie had a lot of funny quirks. If you bent down to pick him up, he would spin around in a circle 3 times before you picked him up.

Charlie’s Health

Because he was a senior dog, he did have health issues. Most of them weren’t major when we first adopted him, worsened with age. Charlie came to us with horrible dental issues and had many teeth pulled over time. He didn’t care as long as he could eat. He began suffering with a collapsing trachea, which is common in small dog breeds, and he developed a heart murmur.

My parents did so much for him during the end of my senior year when he was too sick to have with me at school. When he needed to take different medications, he would get his own specially cooked meals. One of the more challenging issues was his constant weight loss. His weight went up and down drastically the entire time we had him, ranging between 4-8 pounds. There were a few time where he had to have a sort of ‘feed bag’ to help give him the nutrients he needed.

He began seeing a cardiologist (who recommended a valve replacement), and he used an inhaler twice a day. Yup, you read that right, an inhaler. It looked just like one a human would use, but we had a plastic tube-like device that fit over his snout and allowed him to breathe in the medicine. He loved it.

Looking Back

Charlie passed away in the fall of 2014. I didn’t get as much time with him as I wish I could have, but that is a risk you take when adopting a senior dog. That being said, I would never take back that decision. Regardless of how bad he felt, Charlie never acted like it. He was mellow, but loving.

He was the perfect cure for my anxiety. Whenever I felt an anxiety attack coming on, all I had to do was sit with him in my lap for a few minutes and then I’d be ok again. I don’t know what my life would have looked like if I did not have him to help me when I needed it. Would I have even finished college? That sounds dramatic, but my anxiety was that bad.

Dogs As Christmas Gifts

When I see statements claiming that giving pets for Christmas is not a good idea, it is frustrating. What that statement really should say is “Pets for Gifts is Not for Everyone.” It worked out for me. Dogs as Christmas gifts shouldn’t have a blanket good or bad statement on it. Each situation, is different.

I don’t know what happened to Professor Ping Pong, who was a gift for a young girl, I believe about 5 or 6 years old. From what I remember, she just wanted ‘a fluffy white dog,’ which she did get. But that doesn’t even mean that getting a dog for her was a bad choice. For all I know her parents may have presented the dog to her as this is the new family dog, but you are in charge of feeding him breakfast, and that’s it. Maybe she had siblings that would be helping.

If a pet is used to teach a young kid about responsibility, or even loss, and has owners that are committed ‘backup caregivers,’ there is nothing wrong with gifting a pet. It’s only when the pet is given with no thought to the big picture that it becomes an issue. If the parents let the dog starve, that is horrible. And while giving the dog up may work to send a message to the child, that doesn’t consider what that dog has to go through.

Today

I was 20 years old when I got Charlie. If I wasn’t able to handle the basic care of a dog, that would indicate something wrong with me. I didn’t have experience training a puppy, so I didn’t get a puppy. It was thought through.

Not a day goes by where I don’t think about Charlie. If Charlie had never come into my life, I would be so different. All I know is that he was absolutely the best Christmas gift ever.

To read more of my holiday content, click here.

Curious about how my family celebrates Christmas? I have a post all about our Christmas Eve traditions. Or check out this post about another Christmas gift that changed my life.

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