The Dogs of Christmas Read online

  I want to acknowledge that the town of Evergreen does exist, and that when I lived there you could go to the Evergreen Inn for great Mexican food. I want to apologize for any inaccuracies that have crept into my book regarding the town. I swear I heard Christmas carols playing from speakers mounted somewhere one December, but I couldn’t find anyone who could verify this. And I’m sorry if I insulted your lake, but I’m from Michigan, guys, and there just seriously isn’t enough water there to impress me. If you want, come up to Michigan sometime and make fun of our mountains.

  Thanks to Moritz Borman, who has stubbornly refused to allow an injustice to stand. Thanks to my goddaughters, Carolina and Annie, for pretending I’m not too old to be talking to them, and to Steve for not getting any younger. Thanks to Hayes Michel, for being in my corner and assuring me that I’m not actually cornered.

  Thank you to the cast and crew of the new film Muffin Top, for asking me to produce their movie and thus giving me a year’s worth of distraction. Thanks especially to Mitzi Druss and Lydia Fantini, for doing such a good job on my hair and makeup that Cathryn cut my scene from the movie. June, you did an amazing job on my wardrobe—everyone totally bought the idea that I was an old white guy. I’d write your last name but I can’t. Thanks to Tina Young, for traveling across the country to be in my scene. Thanks to Tom Rooker, for keeping an eye on my old house.

  It may not take a village, but it takes a family. Thanks to my parents, Bill and Monsie, for never giving up and always supporting me, even when my back was repeatedly flat on the mat. Thanks to my sisters, Julie and Amy, for making sure everyone they know owns at least one copy of each one of my books.

  And I really should thank my dog, Tucker, who gave me inspiration for this tale by living it. He was literally dropped off at birth in a cardboard box, and was left there overnight with his newborn siblings until someone found the box at the rescue shelter the next morning. Luckily my daughter was fostering a German Shepherd who had just weaned her pups, so Tucker was placed with a new mom, who accepted him and his siblings without question—probably just thought she’d had a wild weekend.

  Finally, to the person who reads my early drafts and always helps me improve my work: Cathryn, you’re the partner every writer dreams of. And now that I’ve married you, I get all the help for free!

  BY W. BRUCE CAMERON

  The Dogs of Christmas

  A Dog’s Purpose

  A Dog’s Journey

  Emory’s Gift

  8 Simple Rules for Dating My Teenage Daughter

  How to Remodel a Man

  8 Simple Rules for Marrying My Daughter

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  W. BRUCE CAMERON is the New York Times bestselling author of 8 Simple Rules for Dating My Teenage Daughter, which was turned into the hit television series. He has twice been voted the #1 best humor columnist by the National Society of Newspaper Columnists, and his nationally syndicated column is read by more than three million readers every week. He lives in California. Visit him on the Web at www.brucecameron.com.

  This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.

  THE DOGS OF CHRISTMAS

  Copyright © 2013 by W. Bruce Cameron

  All rights reserved.

  Cover photograph by Getty Images

  A Forge Book

  Published by Tom Doherty Associates, LLC

  175 Fifth Avenue

  New York, NY 10010

  www.tor-forge.com

  Forge® is a registered trademark of Tom Doherty Associates, LLC.

  The Library of Congress has cataloged the print edition as follows:

  Cameron, W. Bruce.

  The dogs of Christmas / W. Bruce Cameron.—1st ed.

  p. cm.

  “A Tom Doherty Associates book.”

  ISBN 978-0-7653-3055-0 (hardcover)

  ISBN 978-1-4299-9287-9 (e-book)

  1. Dogs—Fiction. 2. Dogs—Breeding—Fiction. 3. Puppies—Fiction. 4. Human-animal relationships—Fiction. 5. Christmas stories. I. Title.

  PS3603.A4535D66 2013

  813'.6—dc23

  2013018448

  e-ISBN 9781429992879

  First Edition: October 2013