The Puppy That Came for Christmas Read Online Free

had been able to keep him. He had ended up with Jamie and was an ideal training partner for me because he could do everything perfectly already.
    November was dragging to its end. It was dark and cold, and the Christmas shopping hadn’t kicked in yet—let alone the Christmas cheer—so I was pleased to have something nice to do. Having had a cursory look around the local pet shop, it was already promising to be an expensive Christmas: we had puppy supplies to buy and a long list of home improvements on which to get started. When I phoned Jamie to put our names on the official puppy parent waiting list, he had announced that he was going to pay us a home visit to oversee the preparations that would ready the house for its new occupant, and to chat about what being a puppy parent would involve. Two days of extreme tidying ensued, during which I did my best to imagine what the perfect puppy home would look like, and then tried to re-create it in our little terraced house.
    â€œHe’s not going to be looking in our cupboards,” Ian had said, trying to reason with me as I chucked away out-of-date spices and piles of old magazines. Still, it was important to put our best face on, I thought, as I invested in a new mop, cleaning products and dusters. Escape-proofing the garden was most important, I decided, and there was an interesting-looking space behind the shed and garage wall where an inquisitive puppy could easily squeeze in and get stuck. Fortunately, the pimply assistant in the DIY superstore had been only too happy to supply piles of fencing and a padlock for the back gate.
    Jamie’s visit came around quickly. On the appointed Friday, the doorbell rang, and I opened the door to see him standing there in his Helper Dogs fleece, jeans and sensible boots, confident I’d done everything short of moving house to be as ready as possible for the pup. I affected the nonchalant air of a person who had always lived in serene tidiness.
    â€œHello, sorry I’m late. Bit of a dog emergency,” Jamie said as he breezed in.
    I rearranged the biscuits I’d bought in case he was peckish, to cover for the fact that I’d been waiting anxiously since breakfast. It was nearly lunchtime. Perhaps I should offer him a sandwich? Come to think of it, I wasn’t sure I had any bread. How could I have forgotten the bread? I hoped he wouldn’t think the worst of me because of it. Back turned, heart racing, I boiled the kettle, while he told me a little about what being a puppy parent would entail.
    â€œYou’ll either be given a very young puppy, which you’ll keep for around six months.”
    I nodded. “Cu-u-ute.”
    â€œOr else you’ll be given an older one that you’ll keep till it’s about a year old and goes off for its final training.”
    Jamie took a swig of tea.
    â€œI’d like a younger one,” I said.
    â€œDepends what’s available,” Jamie said. “Head Office decides who gets what, not me. Young ones are sweet but a lot of work—and very time consuming. Little puppies need to be taken out to the loo every few hours, so there won’t be much sleep for you for the first few weeks . . .”
    I didn’t care about that.
    â€œ. . . and there will probably be more than a few little accidents in the house . . .”
    â€œWe’re thinking of getting laminate flooring.”
    â€œ. . . and little puppies chew. A lot.” He’d spotted the computer wires. Ian was obsessed with gadgets and hung on to his old computers like they were his children. There were wires and leads for every occasion in every corner. They seemed to have a life of their own, reproducing and popping up in unexpected places as soon as your back was turned.
    â€œI’ll get Ian to box them in.”
    â€œYou’ll need a gate to stop the puppy from going up the stairs,” Jamie continued. “And if you’re given a baby puppy