What happens when you don't shop early...

My pretend husband and his sister (my pretend sister-in-law?) had the ingenious idea to get their dad (my pretend… well, you get it) a dog for Christmas. They figure the dog, which will be a bit older and won’t need a lot of training, will be a good companion for their dad, who spends much of the day by himself.
I thought it was a great gift idea and tried to think about whom I could use the idea on. It occurred to me that my dad (he of cannon-buying fame) also spends a lot of time alone during the day and could use a companion too. But Dad has said he doesn’t want to have the responsibility of caring for a dog.
Standing in line at Wendy’s the other day, I noticed the collection box for foster kids and a great idea came to me. Instead of a pet, I’ll get my dad a kid to take care of! Think about it… I’ll order one who’s a little older so he doesn’t have to worry about (potty) training it. I think they come with all their shots so he wouldn’t have to be concerned about that. A kid would get him out of the house to go for walks, chase after balls in the yard and roll around in the grass. And he would have someone to cook for (although we’d have to get him to stop saying, “Don’t feed him from the table or he’ll just keep begging.”)
I can already picture them in matching sweaters going for long walks around the neighborhood or sitting outside as my dad brushes his coat… I mean, hair.
I’m still working on the logistics of it because I’m not sure they’ll let you adopt a kid for someone else, but if it works out, I’m sure the look on my dad’s face when he opens the box (calm down, it will have air holes!) and sees his present will be priceless.