Okay, be honest. Who doesn’t love a puppy? And at Christmas, how could a surprise fur ball be a bad thing?

Well, for the Goss family, it’s all about timing. See, Juliana has her hands full with their three-year-old twins who, truthfully, are tiny terrorists. And their daughter, Ello, is the typical eighth-grade drama queen where just about Everything Ruins Her Life. And, of course, neither of her parents understands anything. Plus, for some reason, Ello’s best friend at school seems to have put her on the Totally Ignore list. Worse still, Grandpa Sander has moved in with them since his wife died, dragging along his old dog, and Ello must help take care of him. Meanwhile, Hunter --- breadwinner, father, husband, son --- spends so much of his time away from home that Juliana is growing more and more unhappy. With the holidays approaching, it doesn’t seem like things could be much worse.

"This year especially, all of us can sorely use an infusion of the joy that comes with puppy breath, nose licks and dog hugs. A DOG’S PERFECT CHRISTMAS is a perfect gift for every reader."

Then tragedy strikes. Now this whole situation could go a number of ways. But here’s how the Goss family decides to handle this new bump. Between his work and helping Juliana, Hunter doesn’t have a minute to spare for anything else. Really, he’s barely holding it together. In a totally surprising move, Grandpa Sander quietly steps in to lend a hand with the twins. Fortunately, he has Ello to translate for him, because their pronunciation is on the rough side, to put it kindly. But the biggest transformation of all comes from Ello. The young teenager recognizes that a huge change has come over their lives, so she sheds her attitude and hops in to do whatever it takes to put things right. The childish dynamics at school? Those don’t matter, not one bit, considering what’s happening now. In fact, why did she think they ever did? Life is full of so much more important stuff.

As for the puppy in the story --- well, sweet little Ruby just tumbled into Ello’s path one day. For the girl, it felt like a gift from Heaven. She had been praying for a dog of her own, but for obvious reasons her mom had nixed that idea. As I said, it’s all about timing. Maybe it would be okay now? That is, of course, if Ruby’s family can’t be found. After all, if this tiny little creature can bring such happiness to Ello, why can’t she bring heaps of cheer to the entire Goss family? Ruby might be just what they all need. Plus, it’s Christmas, a time for people to open their hearts --- to each other, to a little furry ball of joy and to pulling together for a better future.

W. Bruce Cameron has a heart bursting with care for dogs, and it shows in each of his books. We all know that animals bring unconditional love and loyalty into the lives of their humans. Cameron just personalizes that love and loyalty, gives it a name, like Ruby, and a personality. This year especially, all of us can sorely use an infusion of the joy that comes with puppy breath, nose licks and dog hugs. A DOG’S PERFECT CHRISTMAS is a perfect gift for every reader.