A Canine Christmas

          

             Christmas of 2007 was one to remember! Since I have 6 siblings, and 4 of them have spouses and children, Christmas gets pretty big! We always draw names to see who has who for presents. This year, my older brother Allyn and his wife, Emily, had my sister Kristen and me. Every Christmas morning we wake up early and run down to the tree to open gifts, and this year was no exception. On Christmas morning, Kristen and I went down to the tree to find a wrapping paper star cut out and put on the tree with a string tied to it. Obviously, we were a little confused. Allyn and Emily said to follow the string to find our gift, so we did. It led us outside and inside, then upstairs and downstairs and around and finally to the basement in the corner room...and there it was. A little golden retriever puppy. We were overjoyed! He was a little scared of us but we ran and picked him up. We already had a dog, Ginger, but she was getting old and we knew we’d need another dog soon. The funny thing about this present was my brother didn't even ask my parents before he got it. They were as surprised as we were! The whole family was happy (or surprised) and we spent most the rest of the day playing with the dog. After debating on a name, we named him Lars. It is a very Swedish name that no one really liked, but we named him that anyways! I didn’t like it at first, but it grew on me. The two dogs got along well. At first, Lars was scared of anyone and anything, but after Ginger died a couple years later, he stepped up to the plate and became a good watch dog. I love dogs and was so happy to get another dog that year. It is one of my favorite Christmas memories.