Christmas gifts come in all sorts of ways – sometimes even standing on four legs.
“I don’t have any of the numbers on it, but we did have a small increase in adoptions. We definitely had an increase,” Jessie Caldwell, the lead adoption counselor at McKamey Animal Center in Chattanooga, said about the number of dogs taken from the center for Christmas gifts this year.
“We had a big adoption event, too, right around Christmas with reduced prices, and that usually helps a lot,” she added.
Of course, training one’s dog has to follow. Time, skill and patience are required for that.
“Training a dog cannot start too soon,” said Melissa Walthour, the owner of Savage River Kennels in the Mountain Cove Farms area of Chickamauga, Ga. “I start training my puppies when they are two days old. They don’t have their eyes open. If a client wants to bring me a puppy, I will start at any age.”