We're coming in to the crazy-busy holiday season, so it's a good time to give a little thought ahead of time to what that means for our fur kids.

Mostly, it's about having a bunch of extra legs to navigate with all the parties or masses of new stuff to investigate in closets, under beds... you get the idea. Everyone takes care to not leave anything too tempting within reach, like realistic birds on Christmas trees when they have cats or beef jerky stocking stuffers hanging on the stair banister if they have dogs.

The major concern for me is gifting someone a puppy or kitten. It's tempting to have that picture-perfect 'awwwwww' moment with the kids. Yes, the little fluffballs are beyond cute. But, they all have their own personalities and not giving everybody involved a chance to see if it's a 'good fit' is a disservice to the critter. We have to be mindful of that if we want a successful outcome.

Remember, they're the only ones who have absolutely no say in the situation!

Bocci, a Golden Lab mix, had a bumpy road at the start because of this kind of situation. Bocci was born in North Carolina and was a Christmas present for two little kids. Evidently, even as a pup he had a big personality. This is cute in the beginning. The part that gets forgotten is that puppies (and kittens) grow up. In Bocci's case, that big personality was too overwhelming, so his next stop was the local shelter. He was getting stronger by the day and more uncontrollable. Not aggressive, just too much to handle. Circumstances evolved that he landed in Dogtown USA, a no-kill animal sanctuary. He was given some training, but it was still going to take a determined person to offer him a forever home.

Bocci got lucky. A local nurse made the trip from Indiana to Utah to pick him up and bring him home. I met Bocci about a two weeks after that.

Looks sweet, doesn't he? And he is. He's also fully capable of knocking me flat to give me kisses. We found out he wasn't done growing, add in a thyroid issue and he easily tops 85 lbs. Oh, and we also found out he likes to bully other male dogs. Sigh....I nicknamed him Freight-Train the day he tried to bolt after a neighbor's dog. The only recourse I had was to make myself an anchor. I dropped to my knees and had a death grip on his leash. Thankfully, the other pair were out of sight quickly and we were back to business as usual. He's still a handful, but his training continued and he improves every day. He's a clown at heart that doesn't realize how powerful he can be. We love him back just as big as he loves us!

So, the upshot is wait for the 'awwwww' moment when you can give the whole situation the focus it deserves. I guarantee you and the fur kids will be much happier to find the right chemistry for everyone!

If you have any questions, please considering adding them to my new weekly feature Ask Aunt Deb.

Upvote, ReSteem,

THANKS FOR YOUR SUPPORT!