Story by Robin Housekeeper, Reporter
Photo courtesy of Pexels 

“A Dog Named Christmas” is about a young man named Todd McCray. He shows sign of being developmentally challenged. It’s placed a few days before Christmas, and the pet shelter in the town has an annual adopt-a-dog-for-Christmas program. Todd’s father, George, takes a while to be convinced into getting a dog. George only gave in after hearing what his wife had thought about it and after Todd completely cleans his room. Once Todd got to the shelter he wanted to know all about the 33 dogs that were there. After going through a lot of the dogs, Todd picked out a dog that had just arrived to the shelter and didn’t have a name. Todd decided to name the dog Christmas.

Christmas was clearly having an effect on the family. Christmas was getting close to George, who never wanted to get a dog after serving in the Vietnam War. A few days before Christmas Day. Todd wants to help the shelter get all of the other dogs a home for Christmas day so they’re not alone.

At the family Christmas party, Todd gets a few people who will get a dog, and the next day he tries calling more friends who live in the town into getting a dog. He notices that he didn’t have enough people, so he manages to call the local news station and they come to his house to do a show about the program.  In the days following all the dogs get a family for Christmas. Todd wanted all the dogs to have a home for Christmas because he believes that everyone, including dogs, shouldn’t be alone on Christmas.

The day after Christmas, Todd had to bring Christmas back to the shelter. But on the night of Christmas Day a cougar had come onto the family’s property and got into the barn. Christmas woke everyone in the house up by barking, but when George went out Christmas went with him. They found the cougar and Christmas went after it. George had spent the rest of the night looking for both the cougar and Christmas, but came up with nothing. However, the next back Christmas came back on his own.

At the end of the movie, it left me wondering why George was so against getting a dog again. George had a dog in his childhood and when he was at war. What really happened during those years and during when the movie took place that made him never want a dog on the farm again? I’m also curious as how to Todd will change with the dog.

Will having Christmas help Todd in the future? If there were to be a sequel I would hope to see what would happen on the McCray farm 10 years later, or to see how the adopt-a-dog-for-Christmas program will change another family.