In December 2004, an aging black Labrador retriever on the first hunting trip of her long, good life spooked at the sound of gunshot and was lost amid the frigid rice fields of the Texas coastal prairie. For a week her owner searched for his old companion, knowing that her age and inexperience were stacked against her survival. When family obligations pulled him halfway across the country, sadness and gloom pervaded the approaching holiday. Then a freak snowstorm, a distant phone call, and a friend's lucky timing brought an unexpected reminder of the magic of Christmas.

The regular...