This Video Will Melt Your Heart: Christmas the Puppy’s First Holiday

On the remote island of Taal Volcano in the Philippines, PETA Asia staff members stumbled upon a lice-infested puppy who had two infected wounds on his back. He and his siblings were in bad shape, but what happened next changed their lives forever.

Here’s his amazing transformation:

The dog and his littermates were taken to the clinic. There they received medicated baths and parasite treatment, but Christmas’ condition was severe. He likely wouldn’t have survived if left on the island, and his owners knew it. They agreed to give him to PETA so that he could receive continued medical care. And so his journey to health began.

As soon as he got better, Christmas was adopted and is now loving life—and ready to celebrate his first holiday with his new family. Gone are the days when he had to fight for scraps to survive. He now spends his time playing with his family’s other dogs, Zoey, Maya, and Thor, and best of all, from never knowing what a toy was, he has more toys than he knows what to do with!

Rescue Story Activity

Use this engaging rescue-story worksheet to bring real-world compassion into your ELA lessons. Christmas the puppy’s story follows his journey from a struggling island stray to a healthy, loved companion and provides age-appropriate vocabulary, literal and inferential questions, and evaluative prompts designed for grades 3–5. The passage supports Common Core reading standards while encouraging students to think critically about adoption, animal care, and empathy.

For more rescue stories that encourage empathy and reading comprehension, be sure to check out our other rescue stories.