It was Christmas Eve and everyone in the house was asleep.  Everyone, that is, apart from George.  George yawned and stretched his legs out.  He knew that he should try to get some rest, as he wouldn't be able to lie in on Christmas morning.  That was always an early start as Martin and Billy would be dying to find out what was in their parcels and couldn't stay in bed long past seven in the morning.  They always had loads of presents from their parents and various relatives and woke George up in their clamour to be first to the Christmas tree each year.  George thought happily to himself.  He usually had parcels too: mostly from the parents, something small but significant only for him and always very much appreciated. 
 
Unable to make himself sleep, George climbed slowly out of bed, being very careful not to make any noise in case he woke anyone up.  Silence.  They were all asleep, no doubt dreaming of Santa Claus and turkey and selection boxes.  George was pretty keen on turkey too.  It was the highlight of the year for him.  He had never had turkey at the home, probably because there had been so many mouths to feed, especially during the festive season.  Maybe he would have some chocolates in his small pile of gifts this year too?  He did enjoy being part of a family again.
 
He padded slowly through the hallway and made his way into the living room.  It was well decorated with festive attire and although the main lights were off, he still found himself bathed in a colourful glow from the tiny, twinkling fairy lights on the Christmas tree.  George crept across the carpet and breathed in deeply as he approached the tree.  Mum and dad preferred a real tree and this year was no exception.  He breathed in again and let his thoughts turn to running through the woods and kicking up leaves and chasing wild rabbits through the pines.  It was amazing how such a powerful smell could awaken your senses and fill your mind with thoughts of happy times.
 
Turning towards the piles of gifts under the tree, George found a comfy spot and sat down on the carpet.  It was a lush, thick, brown expensive carpet and this made him feel very cosy and homely.  It was lovely to sit here under the tree in the dark in relative peace and quiet for a change.  He scanned the heap of gifts on the floor.  Closest to him was a bumper array of parcels addressed to Martin.  George bent down close and sniffed.  It really was a great skill of his that he could more or less tell what had been wrapped inside the glitzy paper just by smelling.  Martin and Billy were always very amused by this talent and spent hours teasing him with their own presents although they rarely shared them with him.  George never minded though; he had his own and that would be enough for him.  Poking his head deep into the pile of Martin's gifts he was able to guess that his adoptive ‘brother' had socks, at least two boxes of chocolates, one pair of socks, three new toys and one ultra smelly bath set.  Not bad for a ten year old, he reckoned.  He shuffled across to Billy's pile.  This collection was slightly more interesting and appeared to have less chocolate and more toy odours about it.  George would find out for sure in a few hours time when the boys were up.
 
He plodded round to a smaller pile of gifts tucked in at the end, almost hidden round the back of the tree.  He smiled to himself as he thought about overhearing the parents say that his presents would have to be well hidden so that he wouldn't be ripping in to them before Christmas.  It was of course very tempting for him to do just that but he knew that he would be in big trouble for even thinking such a thing so had never opened his gifts before the big day in all his five  years of being with them.  No, he was going to wait patiently again this year and be given his presents with the rest of the family.  He nudged the pile gently with his foot and listened carefully.  It wasn't unusual for him to be given toys that made some sort of noise, as these were his favourite.  His favourite after anything that smelt good and was there for eating of course.  The pile tinkled gently.  He nudged it again.  Fantastic.  He must have at least one toy in there this year.  Shoving his nose into the presents he detected rubber, chocolate and leather.  Nice selection.  He could guess what these items might be in essence although he didn't know their exact shape or form and felt pleased.  A nice festive selection.
 
George wandered away from the tree and its fairy lights and across the room.  He thought of mum and dad and Martin and Billy and felt a warm glow build inside him.  Mum and dad were always so good to him, so patient.  They had taken him in at an early age when he had been abandoned and had no one and always made sure that he was treated as just one of the family.  Martin and Billy were generally there for him although they did sometimes chum together and he was left to his own devices.  That didn't bother George; he knew they all loved him and always would for as long as they would have him.
 
Leaving the living room George sauntered into the kitchen.  It was very dark but he could just see enough to have a quick drink of water before continuing on and through to his own bed.  George jumped back into bed and curled himself up tightly, waiting for this Santa Claus that they had all been talking about.
 
Morning came and with it the annual clamour of Billy and Martin charging down the stairs followed closely by mum and dad.  Hearing the noise, George leapt out of bed and raced through to the living room.  When he poked his head through the door the boys were already ripping wildly into their mountain of presents.  Billy was holding up a new electronic game and screeching with delight while Martin was flinging pieces of wrapping paper madly out of his way.  Dad spotted George first.
 
"Hey there George," he smiled holding out his hand.  "Over you come and see what we've got for you this year!"
 
George trotted across the room and sat down in between mum and dad.  Mum held up a small package.  George recognised this.  It was the one that he thought contained something made of leather.  "Let's see what's inside shall we," mum cooed.  As the paper fell to the floor George felt the pride well in him as mum held out his first gift of the day.  She slipped the leather band round his neck and ruffled the top of his head.
 
"We even had the tag engraved specially for you," she added, patting his back.  "To George, the most special dog in the whole world."
 
George wagged his tail and licked her face.  He loved Christmas.