Once upon a time, there was a beagle called Mack who was so roly poly that he couldn't even scratch behind his ears without falling down and rolling over.
His elderly mom couldn't give Mack the care he needed and she was so worried about him that she made a wish upon a Christmas Eve star (and upon the telephone, too).
The next day, a blue sleigh pulled up to their house and an angel got out. "Hello, Mack," said the angel. "I'm Michelle, and you are going to a wonderful place called Dogtown where you'll be as happy as Santa himself."
"That must mean lots and lots of treats!" Mack thought as he happily got into the sleigh.
"One day you will wake up and see yourself as the very special beagle I see in you.
And you will go on to achieve great things with a new family in your own home."
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When they arrived at Dogtown, a wise old beagle-mix named Petunia greeted Mack at her dog house.
Petunia told him that she, too, had once had a problem with eating. "One day, I even rolled down the hill," she confessed. "But now I live here at Michelle's Lo-Cal Love Home. She loves us all so much that she can look into our begging faces and give us lots of love which has no calories and turns out to be even better than treats."
Mack wasn't so sure about this at first but, day after day, the Lo-Cal Love boys and girls went for walks together and whenever Mack said he wanted a treat, Michelle would give him a big hug and a kiss - and not a cookie.
"Have you lost a lot of weight?" Mack asked Petunia.
"I weighed 38 pounds once," she replied. "And now...well a lady never tells. But even though you're still twice the size you should be, one day you will wake up and see yourself as the very special beagle I see in you. And you will go on to achieve great things with a new family in your own home."
Petunia was right: One day Mack could scratch behind his ear without falling over, and soon after that he began to do all the doggie things he'd never been able to do before.
Then, one day, a family came to visit Best Friends and fell in love with him. Mack fell in love, too, and it was the first time he'd been in love with anything other than food.
So, Mack said goodbye to all his old friends and he told Michelle and Petunia that he now knew that love comes not only from food and treats, but also from the heart. And off he went to his new home.
"Goodbye, Mack," said Petunia.
"And don't forget that when you really, really wish for something, it does come true - not just on Christmas but every day of the year."
Read about Three Wise Dachshunds...
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