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The Puppy That Came for Christmas

How a Dog Brought One Family the Gift of Joy
by Megan Rix
The Puppy That Came for Christmas: How a Dog Brought One Family the Gift of Joy. Plume: Penguin Group (USA). Oct. 2011. c.256p. photogs. ISBN 9780452297487. pap. $14. PETS
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Rix, pseudonym of children's book author Ruth Symes, was undergoing fertility treatments when she and her husband decided to raise Emma, a service dog for an organization that provides trained dogs for people with disabilities. Emma filled their days, raised their spirits, and introduced them to new friends, but after six months, she was selected to complete training. Immediately, Freddy, another potential service dog, entered their lives. They again poured their energy into his upbringing and again their hearts were wrenched when he graduated. The fertility treatments did not have the desired effect, and, finally coming to terms with their medical situation and rejecting other options, they decided to give up hope for a child and adopt a dog of their own.
VERDICT Dog memoir readers who enjoyed John Grogan's Marley and Me or Julie Klam's You Had Me at Woof will appreciate this story about dogs who impact people's lives. An instant bestseller in the UK.
Reviewed by Florence Scarinci, Nassau Comm. Coll. Lib., Garden City, NY , Jun 15, 2011
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