My friend Melanie Lattin passed along this Christmas poem. I normally can’t bear to read sad poems about animals, but this one is appropos.

T’was the night before Christmas when all thru the house, not a creature was stirring not even a mouse.

The stockings were hung by the chimney with care in hopes that St. Nick soon would be there.

The children all nestled snug in their beds with no thought of the dog filling their head. And mom in her kerchief and I in my cap knew the dog was cold, but didn’t care about that.

When out on the lawn there arose such a clatter
I sprang from the bed to see what was the matter.

Away to the window I flew like a flash figuring the dog was free of his chain and into the trash.

The moon on the breast of the new fallen snow
gave the luster of mid-day to objects below.

When what to my wondering eyes should appear but Santa Clause with his eyes full of tears.

He unchained the dog once so lively and quick last year’s Christmas present now painfully sick. More rapid than eagles he called the dog’s name
and the dog ran to him despite all his pain.

Now Dasher, now Dancer, now Prancer and Vixen on Comet on Cupid on Donner and Blitzen.

To the top of the porch to the top of the wall let’s find this dog a home where he will be loved by all. 

I knew in an instant there would be no gifts this year for Santa had made one thing quite clear. The gift of a dog is not just for the season we had gotten the dog for all the wrong reasons.

In our haste to think of the kids a gift, there was one important thing we missed, A dog should be family, and cared for the same. you don’t give a gift, then put it on a chain.

And I heard him explain as he rode out of sight,
“You weren’t given a gift, you were given a life.”

– Author Unknown

Happy holidays to you and the pet in your life.

Soul of a Dog: Reflections on the Spirits of the Animals of Bedlam Farm (Jon Katz, Villard, $24). In his latest and most thought-provoking dispatch from his enclave in upstate New York, Katz reflects on whether animals possess souls and consciences or whether it just seems as if they do. As the owner of a border collie, I especially enjoy reading about Rose and Orson, his highly intelligent, sometimes problematic cattle dogs.

Old dogs are the best dogs (Gene Weingarten and Michael S. Williamson, Simon & Schuster, $19.95). Gene Weingarten is a reporter for the Washington Post and as gifted a writer as you’ll find. In this collection of essays, he extols the wisdom and loyalty of aging dogs with wrenching eloquence. Williamson’s accompanying black and white photos capture the dignity in the dogs’ shining eyes. I thumbed through this book and was hooked.

Inside of a Dog: What dogs see, smell, and know (Alexandra Horowitz, Scribner, $27) unravels dozens of mysteries surrounding dogs: why they’re so eager to mark territory, why they seem to be able to tell time, why they’re able to detect disease. Read this and I guarantee you’ll see your dog with new appreciation and insight. 

A big little life: a memoir of a joyful dog (Dean Koontz, Hyperion, $24.99) is the story of Koontz’s golden retriever, Trixie, a retired service dog who taught the best-selling writer some profound lessons about living life to the fullest. Koontz articulates the feelings of many dog lovers when he describes what Trixie’s full-out philosophy meant to him.

 Dog On It (Spencer Quinn, Atria, $25) is a delightful mystery featuring Bernie, a happy-go-lucky human, and Chet, his even happier-go-lucky dog. The story is told from Chet’s point of view, which sounds incredibly hokey, but it works — so cleverly that I found myself smiling all the way to the end.