Our book club had struggled to find a “happy book” and A Dog Named Christmas would have been the perfect choice.  It is heartwarming tale of a farm family who ends up  inspiring a community to foster ALL of the dogs that remain in the shelter over the holidays.

The family has an adult special needs son who hears a news clip advertising a program to foster shelter dogs.  This initiative provides care for the pets while the shelter is closed.  After convincing his skeptical father, he carefully selects a dog and names him Christmas.

The father has made if very clear that this is a fostering situation and that the dog will be going back to the shelter after the holidays.  As family visits for Christmas, they give their dad a hard time about returning the dog and in the end, friends and family end up committing to fostering more dogs.

As the community becomes more engaged, the dad comes to terms with the ghosts of dogs past, reliving moments with dogs that he had loved (and one that had saved his life).  Only after Christmas has been returned does he understand that a dog would make his life better.

This is a sweet Christmas read to get the reader into the Christmas spirit!!