Today one of my students shared a picture of the newest acquisition to his family…”Bruno” , a rescue dog. He had a sample picture of himself, his brother and “Bruno” which they will use as a Christmas card. He could not wait to show his friends and teacher. It is not uncommon for people to use their pets in their holiday greeting cards. As many as 58% of pet owners do this, according to the American Animal Hospital Association. My student is language learning disabled, but he had no difficulty when it came to talking about his new pet. His eyes sparkled and the words just poured out as he described how he got his dog. Just one more instance of how pets can give back to their owners!