Christmas the dog that saved us...

Christmas in culvert

Last Labor Day our friends went to New Jersey to celebrate a wedding.  They asked if we could watch their 15 year old black lab, named Christmas?  Of course we would, even though the younger dogs are neurotic and could not be around him.  They thought he was threatening, whatever!  He was a gentle giant full of love and kindness.  I kind of had a crush on him.  When he arrived daddy made us trout with our dog food.  It was so wonderful.  We spent time lying in the sun and relaxing.
Then tragedy approached.  In the early morning hours daddy and Christmas went out to tinkle.  It was a foggy, rainy morning.  Just awful, the rain was coming down so hard.  Christmas disappeared.  We thought for sure he would be back at any moment.  However, that day became night. The parents searched, made signs, went to neighbors, the animal control, etc.  There was not a trace...
The next day became the next night and then it became three nights.  The parents did not want to ruin our friends celebration in New Jersey but realized they had to share that Christmas was gone.
They understood he was old and would wander off.  They were not mad but just expressed we only wished we saw him one last time to say goodbye.  Heartbreaking.
To make a long story short.  Mom took the Springer Collection out on a Saturday morning and heard a faint bark.  She heard it again...

Daddy digging for Christmas

She brought the misfits  in to get daddy.  It was six-thirty in the morning.  Now, you must remember every time we heard a horn honk, a dog bark, the wind blow a funny noise.  Daddy was on alert and in the car to look for Christmas.  This was day number four and the chances of Christmas coming back were next to nothing.

Christmas resting

Daddy came out and he heard it too.  He went to the edge of the driveway and said it is real,  there is a faint bark in the culvert under the road. Mom brought dad a flashlight he looked and said I see nothing over here, lets go across the street.  Now the brush is over ten feet and the bank drops to a steep hill.  Daddy went in and said it's CHRISTMAS AND HE'S ALIVE!
They started digging and digging, they took turns because of the hill, all of the dirt was washed down to the end of the culvert.  Finally, with much soil moved they pulled him out, he was weak.  However, he was able to go home to his family.  Christmas has since passed on, he was there to say his goodbyes to his beloved family.
What he taught all of us is plenty.  When times are hard and you feel like giving up just push forward, it will all work out in the end.  Days we feel so overwhelmed we just look at Christmas and how he fought at an old age to see his family, living under a road scared and alone.  He knew there was something worth living for.
With that being said we can all endure...If Christmas can make it, so can we.  We now find ourselves in hard times saying: What would Christmas do?
-Freeway Freida Marie