"The Best Christmas Ever!!!"

SmokyBear has been wanting a German shepherd for quite a while. We told him he would have to save at least half of the money needed to buy one before we would look. As Christmas drew near he was very close to having enough. My mom called about an ad in the paper by someone selling puppies and one of the girls and I snuck out to check them out. We ended up putting a deposit on an adorable female puppy and the owners agreed to hold her until Christmas. The cost would be shared between us, his uncle who drew his name and SmokyBear's own savings.

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Then the money SmokyBear had began to tempt him to buy other things. He began to waver on his decision to buy a dog that was that was so expensive. I had a talk with him and explained that he would have this dog for many years most likely and he would be glad in the long run if he bought the dog he really wanted. And I told him he would have many more opportunities over the next few years to earn more money working for his dad after school. He agreed and became very excited about looking for his dog. I told him we would have to wait until after the holidays to talk about it any more.

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Christmas morning came and the puppy was in a pet cage in our van, parked out of sight up near my parents' house where we were staying. That night we made our plan of how we would give the puppy to him. When his turn came, his uncle began looking under the tree for Smokybear's present, asking my sister where the "other" present was since he didn't see it under the tree. She replied that it must still be in their van and I volunteered to go get it.

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As I was coming down the stairs I called, "I found it!" The whole way walking down the stairs with the puppy in my arms, SmokyBear was looking down at the floor. He didn't look up until I was right next to him. My sister caught the exact moment on the camera.

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He cried out, "What??? Oh my gosh! Is it...?" There were tears in his eyes. In his own words he was "freaked out". I think he was in a state of shock.

He was not able to contain his smile, which is very uncharacteristic of him.

He even crawled into the cage, since the puppy was not allowed on the carpet, so he could be with her while the others continued to open their gifts.

There is just something about a boy and a dog. It has been wonderful to watch him take care of her. The responsibility for all of her care falls on him. He even gets up with her several times a night to take her potty and he hasn't complained a bit. She really is a wonderful puppy. She already comes when you call her and fetches the ball. Everyone is in love with her. He named her Tinsel.

According to him it was the best Christmas ever. What he can't understand yet is that watching him with this dog is the best Christmas present for me too.