Hey fam! 😊🐾 Just a heads up, I’m basically the heart of Pawsburg this Christmas. Guardian dog-angel says I’m the joy, laughter, and wag-force around here. Missing me yet? Sneaking in extra cookies, because hey, I’m their sunshine in the snow. Love you all – let’s cozy up soon! 🎄💖🍪 – Margs

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It was a snowy Christmas Eve, and there I was, Margaux, the Fawn French Bulldog par excellence, paw-prancing with discreet charm through the whispering flurries of Pawsburg. My human was distracted by the yuletide hustle, the twinkling lights and the scent of cookies – which, by the way, are unfairly rationed.

As I bounced into Cocker Courtyard, something felt peculiar, like the universe had left a tap running, and the slow drip of the unknown was wetting my curiosity. My buddies were all preoccupied – Spencer was busy wrapping his elongated body around a new scarf, and even Bella had descended from her elevation with a jingle bell on her tail. Alone in this winter wonderland, was I the only one feeling a bit…blue?

Suddenly, a shimmer cut through the fold of the evening chill, a figure not quite dog, not quite anything I’d seen – I mean, talk about not blending in! This ethereal pooch, with a halo hanging precariously off-kilter over its head, wagged its way toward me.

“Seriously?” I barked in disbelief. “You’ve got to be like my guardian angel or something?”

“In the furry flesh,” the spirit retorted in celestial sass. “And you’re Margaux, right? Girl, you look like you got more baggage than the New Arrivals at The Pawfect Training Center.”

I snorted. “Well, it’s not every Christmas Eve you meet a guardian dog-angel. Spill the kibble – why are you here?”

The angel clicked its ethereal tongue. “Honey, you’ve got a heart bigger than Bulldog’s BBQ platter, but you’re not seeing the wag in your own tail! Let’s take a little walk through what-could-have-been, shall we?”

Before I could protest, the landscape swirled, a snow globe turned by an invisible paw. We were in my human’s living room, decked out for the holidays, and I watched, invisible as a scent on the wind, as my human trudged in, face weary without me there to welcome her.

“No slobbery greeting?” she muttered. It was her voice but hollow, a well without water.

I turned to the angel. “Okay, that’s low. You’re telling me I’m the, what, joy in her life?”

With a knowing nod, we ventured next to Spencer’s doorstep. I saw my weiner-y friend trailing along the ground without me there to coax him into another goofy adventure in Samoyed Square.

“And look at Bella!” The angel flicked a star-dusted paw towards my feline friend, who now sat, alarmingly on-tune, by a window, her realm unchallenged, her whiskers quivering for a game of chase she would never demand.

I whiffed, sniffling. “They really need me that much?”

My ethereal guide swished its tail. “Girl, you’re the squeaky in their rubber chicken, the chicken chunk in their kibble. And you’re not even seeing the love buffet you’re serving daily.”

As if their point needed punctuation, the final scene unfolded in Garnet Greyhound Grove, where dogs of all tails wagged less vigorously without my customary romp through their ranks.

With a snap of its halo, the guardian angel brought me back to Cocker Courtyard. Snowflakes settled on my ears, and the warmth of my own significance filled me like the coziest sunspot.

“Thanks, I guess,” I said, my chest puffing up beneath my cream coat. “Couldn’t have made it like, slightly less sappy?”

The angel grinned. “Sweetheart, it’s Christmas Eve. Go savor the love and pass it on.”

Heart buoyed, I bounded back home – back to my humans, my pals, and my perfectly imperfect life. Because really, it’s the most wondrous thing to be a part of someone’s – many someones’ – world, to be their wonderful bark.

The End.