'Twas the Night...

The big, eager dog and his gentle bunny friend watched the sky as the silvery spot grew bigger. Was that the sound of sleigh bells?

Hobo and Puff knew they'd have to get to work quickly when it landed. That's because they had some very special gifts to deliver to their pals around the sanctuary.

It was Hobo's idea. "I'd lost my home and my family after Hurricane Katrina," he'd told Puff. "And I'd gone a bit squirrely and snappy. So they couldn't put me in a new home. Instead, they brought me back to Best Friends. I'm feeling much calmer, and Best Friends Dogtown is my home now."

Puff was the opposite of Hobo - a gentle soul, wracked with pain from tumors and abscesses until she came to the sanctuary to receive all the special care she needed.

Time to give something back, they both decided.

"All aboard," said the man in the big red suit. "Where first? Cats or dogs?"

"There's a shy little goat who just arrived," said Puff. "Let's go see her."

"Ho ho ho!" said their driver. "And off we go!"

First stop:
The gift of friendship

As a kid, Scarlet had been kept as a pet. But as she grew up, she found herself living alone in the backyard.

No one took care of her. They'd even forgotten to change her collar as she got bigger, and when she was rescued, it was so tight it was strangling her. She's feeling much better now, but still has a deep scar on her neck.

Scarlet was afraid of everything and everyone. But Puff hopped forward and began to tell Scarlet her own story.

"It took me a long time to trust people, too," she said. "I had to have lots of surgeries, and I almost didn't make it. But I started making friends with the other rabbits. And they really helped me pull through. C'mon, climb aboard with us!"

Gingerly, Scarlet stepped onto the sleigh and cuddled up with her new friends. It was the gift of friendship.

Second stop:
Confidence - the gift of flying high

Next stop was Feathered Friends, the bird house, which set off a whole lot of chirping and squawking - except for Shaka, an Amazon grey, who was looking a bit sorry for herself.

Shaka had come from a home where she lived by herself in a small cage. That's no fun for a bird who needs to be part of a flock or a family. She was so upset, in fact, that she'd started pulling out all her feathers.

Here at the sanctuary, with lots of TLC, and surrounded by lots of feathered friends (and human ones, too), she was beginning to feel like a new bird. But she knew she still looked nothing like the other beautiful African greys at Best Friends with their gorgeous, full feathers.

"I just learned to fly in this sleigh," Scarlet the goat said to Shaka. "And I'm sure you can fly, too. You're such a beautiful bird. Why don't you come fly with us tonight?"

Shaka spread her wings, and yes...she could feel her spirit beginning to soar. All it took was a little gift of confidence.

And finally:
The greatest gift of all

The sleigh took off again, stopping at Dogtown, the Horse Haven, the Bunny House, the Clinic, and then at the sanctuary's foster homes.

Everywhere they went, Hobo and Puff brought gifts of comfort and cheer to all the hopeful little faces for whom Best Friends had become their last hope.

Finally, as dawn was about to break over the red canyons that surround the sanctuary, they made their last stop - at the TLC Cat Club.

Dilly and Maynard don't get around too well, so they couldn't hurry out to greet the sleigh. But they were cuddling up together, purring and grooming each other, when Hobo and Puff arrived.

"We still have lots of gifts left," said Hobo. "So you guys can choose anything you like."

"That's very kind of you," said Dilly as she and Maynard helped themselves to some extra good cheer. "But now that Maynard and I have each other, we really have everything we could possibly want. People who meet us think we have a disability, but we've discovered that life isn't just about being able to get around. It's about caring for each other."

"That's true," Maynard chimed in. "So what we'd like most is a chance to share the love we have with other homeless pets. We'll just need a little help loading it up."

Hobo and Puff helped the two kitties until the sleigh was piled high with love and blessings.

And all the animals watched as the sleigh climbed higher and higher into the sky, knowing that kindness and caring are the greatest gift of all.

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