My wonderful husband gave me an early Christmas gift - a 4 month old puppy named Willie. I've been browsing local pet ads and the Petfinder website, and now and then I will show him one that I'd love to have. For one of them, I even asked him to contact the rescue agency.
One day I was at work, and found a local ad, no picture, and I forwarded it to IDay. He contacted the lady and they corresponded for a day or two. The lady chose us out of 28 respondents. I went with IDay to pick Willie up, because puppies bond best with the one who is it's "first" (first to hold, first to speak, first to feed and water, first to .... so along I went and was the first. IDay got a dog for me for Christmas...along with obedience training. Puppies are a LOT of work and I am exhausted! So if you are thinking about getting a puppy for someone for Christmas, make sure it is something that they really, really want and can commit to. Like another poster said, I too, am sick of people getting puppies only to find out they didn't really want them or can't look after them after all.
At the very least, discuss the purchase with the family and involve them in the process. If you want to give a puppy to someone for Christmas, my suggestion is to give them a puppy stuffie, ceramic or carving, along with a note that the real gift is a real pup.
