One day, not long ago, a young boy named Sam and his puppy Spot fell asleep in the Santa's workshop display at San Jose's Christmas in the Park.

Sam was cold. Spot was hungry.

"I wish we were home," Sam said to Spot.

For as long as they could remember, they had lived in a humble, comfortable home with Sam's family, the Spats. It had an old orange couch where Spot … who got his name because he had a black fur circle around his left eye … would snuggle with Sam.

Spot and Sam and the rest of the Spats were happy in their humble home. Then, one blustery day, everything changed. You see, the Spats lived in New Orleans. And that day, Hurricane Katrina came with a roar and a howl and a great, wet whoosh.

Spot's favorite couch was thrown all the way to the neighbor's living room. "Good thing I wasn't on that couch," Spot barked to himself.

The Spats tried to wipe everything down and dry everything up. But the humble home was too badly damaged, and Spot's favorite couch was permanently soggy.

So in December, the Spats scooped up Spot and left with only the clothes on their backs and a box of snacks. They were going to live with their Uncle Spad in San Jose.

When they arrived in San Jose, Uncle Spad could tell the Spats were sad. So he took them downtown to see the bright lights at Christmas in the Park.

Spot and Sam were having lots of fun hiding in all the displays.

But there were so many people. With all the hustle and bustle, the Spats got separated from Spot and Sam. They looked and looked, but there was no Sam and no Spot.

On the other end of the park, Sam and Spot spotted Santa's Workshop. It looked humble and comfortable, just like home. So they wandered inside. They got tired and fell asleep, blending in with the elves in the display.

Spot got tired and fell asleep among the elves in Santa's workshop.

  They awoke to the sound of a door swinging open. As they looked up, a glowing light spread across their faces. Sam's eyes grew wider and wider as he saw ...

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Courtesy of the San Jose Mercury.