“Dear Santa, for Christmas this year, all we want is a dog” is how the letter my brother and I wrote went. “You don’t need to bring us any other gift. All we want is a puppy, pretty please. We promise to take care of it and love it with all our hearts.”

My brother and I were certain we were going to get a puppy because of that letter. We had gotten together to write the one letter asking for nothing other than a dog and giving no backups. In our minds, Santa would have no choice but to get us a puppy. 

And so that year, we ran downstairs to the Christmas tree in the living room fully expecting to find an adorable little puppy waiting for us. We did not. 

Instead of the puppy, we found a letter explaining that getting a dog was a big responsibility and should be a family decision, not a Christmas gift. We were disappointed, but after a conversation with our parents, we understood why we couldn’t get a puppy yet. 

But, we didn’t let go of the idea. Instead of forgetting about getting a dog, this sparked a month-long campaign of my brother and I petitioning our parents to get a dog. We progressed slowly from asking for a dog, to doing research, to getting our house ready and to making a chore wheel until, almost a year later, we were picking out a name for the dog we would be getting soon. We landed on Naica. 

As fate would have it, Naica was born on Christmas Day, exactly one year after we had originally asked Santa to bring us a dog. Of course, we couldn’t bring her home until she was old enough to be away from her mom, but that didn’t matter. We were getting a puppy at last. 

Two months later, we drove to pick her up and bring her home. When we got there, we got instructions on how to feed her and which toys were better for her, and so on. Being the impatient seven-year-old I was, I didn’t quite stick around to pay attention. And that turned out to be the best choice. 

Seeing as how both my parents and my brother were busy listening to instructions, the person who was bringing Naica over, handed her to me. And there I was, so happy with this adorable golden ball of fur in my arms. Finally, we had a dog. And she was the cutest thing ever. 

Naica immediately became a member of our family. She brought so much to us. My brother and I loved playing with her. Every day, we came back from school, and we immediately went to the garden to play with Naica for as long as we could. Walking her on weekend mornings became a family tradition. Every night, having dinner culminated with my brother and I on the floor petting Naica.

Now it’s years later, Naica is gone, and she has been for a while now. And once again, my brother and I have been asking for a dog. We’re not picky about it being for Christmas this time, but I guess we’ll see what happens.