A DOGGONE CHRISTMAS

Have you ever wondered why Santa Claus, the world's nicest man, has never teamed up with “man's best friend?” It’s because Santa doesn’t like dogs. And they don’t see Santa as a jolly fellow bringing presents to boys and girls. Instead, dogs view Santa as a late-night intruder, and they have bitten, chased and barked at Santa for centuries…

Our story begins on Christmas Eve, when Mom and Dad quietly bring a small dog crate into their living room and place it beneath the tree. The two of them go to bed, excited for their son to discover his new puppy in the morning.

But the still unnamed DOG manages to tip over his crate and escape. Intrigued by the beautifully wrapped presents, Dog grabs a ribbon between his teeth and begins to pull. Cut to:

The gorgeous living room is completely destroyed! Bits and pieces of wrapping paper and sofa cushion foam are everywhere. Dog’s ongoing destruction of the room is interrupted by a new sound from the chimney as Santa Claus appears. Dog leaps at the intruder, bites the seat out of Santa’s pants, and knocks him back into the tree, which topples to the floor. Santa manages to escape, but doesn’t leave any presents for the family.

Dog surveys the room and the fallen tree, its lights still blinking. Triumphantly marking his new territory, Dog lifts a hind leg by the tree. Sparks shoot from the lights as the room catches fire! Cut to:

Dad angrily drops Dog off by the side of a cold, desolate stretch of country road, and drives away.

A few years later, shortly before Christmas, and Dog is now a wise-cracking adult who knows the ways of the world. He’s also the tough, alpha dog of a pack of homeless strays.

Dog leads his pack on a daring heist, stealing food, blankets and other survival needs from a well-guarded pet store. Though they’re nearly caught by CHAMBERS, the fearsome dog catcher, Dog bravely leads Chambers on a wild chase while the others escape back to their secret hideout.

When Dog returns, expecting a hero’s welcome, he’s surprised to hear dissent from his pack. While Dog stubbornly insists he doesn’t want or need any help from a human owner, his packmates aren’t so sure. They want to be adopted, and pack life will never get them families and masters. They complain, “We should be hanging out by schools, following kids home! We want families! We want to play with kids!” But Dog insists that’s not how it works, “Families want cute puppies, not grown mutts from the street. We’ve got to stick together to survive.”

To raise morale, Dog plans the heist of a fancy steak restaurant for some much-needed Grade-A beef. The dogs are wreaking havoc on the place when Chambers shows up with his crew. The pack scatters, “Every dog for himself!”

Dog takes refuge in the back of a nearby SUV. But with Chambers lurking nearby, Dog is forced to lay low when the vehicle’s owner – an overweight man with a white beard – returns from his shopping. To Dog’s relief, the SUV takes off. But then the SUV literally takes off! Flying above the city, Dog realizes too late that his hiding place is actually the back of Santa’s camouflaged sleigh.

At the North Pole, Dog is exposed and confronted by Santa and the elves. Recognizing Santa, Dog tells him, “You’re that guy from the chimney who ruined my life and got me thrown out on the streets!” Santa tells Dog “You brought that on yourself for being a bad dog and biting my pants off!” Dog demands to be sent back home. Santa is more than happy to oblige him – first thing tomorrow.

That night, ARCTIC WOLVES enter the sleigh’s hangar and chew on the reindeer harness straps. Their goal – to drive Santa and the elves off the land so the wolves can have it to themselves. That morning, on Dog’s flight home, the harness straps break. Dog is forced to leap from the falling sleigh! DONNER swoops in to save him, but with the sleigh crashed, Dog is going to be stuck at the North Pole awhile.

Because the elves are already behind schedule with the toys, and with the new, urgent need to rebuild the sleigh, Santa puts all the elves on toy and sleigh duty. To take up the slack, Santa puts Dog on security detail. Now working with Head Security Elf CALLAHAN, Dog’s job is to stop any more incursions by the arctic wolves.

Back home, Dog’s packmates have been captured by Chambers and lie forlornly in their cages at the pound. Chambers marks an “X” on the calendar. In two weeks, their time will be up.

Dog cons the elves into letting him sleep inside the elf barracks, where he discovers he enjoys sleeping with the cuddly elves curled up around him. His attitude toward elves, reindeer, the whole “North Pole thing” slowly softens. And with the help of reindeer providing air support, he successfully repels the wolves on several occasions.

But wolf leader MAUL is furious at her pack for letting a stupid dog get the better of them. She stages a clever distraction to get Dog out of the way, then corners Santa on a frozen lake. As she moves in for the kill, Santa falls through the ice! But Dog sprints to the rescue, drives off the ferocious Maul, and leaps into the ice to rescue Santa.

Overwhelmed with gratitude, and over Santa’s objections, Mrs. Claus invites Dog to live in the lodge with them. For the ever-scheming Dog, things are looking up. He learns that not all humans are bad as he hangs out with Santa and observes Santa using his magic Snow Globe to look in on any child anywhere in the world. (That’s how Santa knows if you’ve been bad or good.) However, when Santa makes a remark about the wolves stealing North Pole food supplies just because they’re hungry and cold, memories of his pack stealing food come flooding back to Dog. He realizes to his horror that he has “become the dog catcher.”

Dog hurries into the frigid night and lures the wolves to a fishing boat trapped in the ice. The wolves follow, hoping to get rid of him once and for all. But Dog turns the tables and traps them in the fishing nets. In the hold of the abandoned ship is enough fresh fish to feed the wolves for a very long time. It’s all theirs on one condition – stop harassing Santa and the elves. The wolves are amazed that Dog would help them. New bonds of friendship form.

Santa is impressed. He gives Dog a pat on the head and an affirming “Good dog!” – his first ever. Santa presents Dog with a small token of appreciation, a bouncy rubber ball, specially made by the elves. Dog’s feeling pretty good. But when Dog looks in on his old pack using Santa’s magic Snow Globe, his heart sinks. He discovers his friends are all locked in the pound, and they think Dog’s abandoned them. Guilt and desperation wash over Dog. He’s failed his friends. And Christmas is only days away.

Dog wanders in the snow, howling in despair and shame at his failure. Rudolph emerges from the blinding snow and shares with Dog that there was a time in his life when he was full of despair and shame, too. “But on that foggy Christmas Eve, when Santa needed me to navigate, I found a place I was needed.”

Dog realizes the one place he’s needed most is with his old pack. He must rescue them! With Rudolph’s help, Dog takes the still-under-repair sleigh and heads for home. But when Santa discovers Dog’s gone – and has taken the sleigh – he’s furious! “That Dog’s ruined Christmas! You see,” he tells Mrs. Claus, “dogs just can’t be trusted.”

Desperate to get the sleigh back that night for Christmas Eve, Santa uses the Snow Globe to track Dog’s location. Still incredibly angry, Santa and a handful of elves ride bareback to confront Dog and retrieve the sleigh. To Santa’s surprise, Dog asks forgiveness for borrowing the sleigh and explains he’s simply trying to save his friends.

Santa, impressed by Dog’s loyalty, offers his help. Together, Santa, the elves, Dog, and the reindeer outwit Chambers and his Doberman Pinscher guards, free Dog’s packmates, and make a daring escape!

Because there’s a shortage of toys for Christmas Eve, Dog suggests that his friends – all of whom want families – would make wonderful gifts for boys and girls. Santa agrees and finds a perfect home for each of Dog’s friends.

When the sleigh lands back at the North Pole with Dog still aboard, he quietly realizes how sad and disappointed he is that he still hasn’t found his perfect home. But Santa seeks him out, telling him, “Don’t worry, Dog. I’ve found your perfect home as well. It’s here at the North Pole, with Mrs. Claus and me!”

Now Dog lives happily with Santa, Mrs. Claus, the elves and the reindeer – even the arctic wolves! And every Christmas Eve, Dog accompanies Santa as his co-pilot, reassuring every dog in every home that Santa’s a friend, coming with joy and presents. With Dog at his side, Santa’s troubles with dogs are over. But cats?! That’s a whole other story…