One of Oprah's favorite Christmas gifts last year came from a neighbor who made a donation in Oprah's name to a no-kill shelter called The Lange Foundation. Oprah says she wasn't aware of the gift until she opened a very special Christmas card—"written" by the dog saved by that specific donation. That dog was Salina, a blind cocker spaniel who was close to being put down at an overcrowded animal shelter in Los Angeles.

Here is an excerpt of Salina's letter:
"One morning last week there was great excitement. … One of the dogs had heard an officer say that someone from Lange Foundation was coming to choose a dog in your honor. I shared in the excitement, even though I knew the dog chosen would not be me. I was old and I was blind. I'd lived for many years in the yard of my owner's home. They never paid much attention to me. I did have my own doghouse, and that is where I spent most of my life, especially when I could no longer see.

"When the foundation arrived, I tried to look my best as I knew it was my fifth day at the pound—my final day. The lady slowly walked up and down the aisles. I could sense that she was sad, and I heard her say to the kennel man, 'I wish I could take all of them.' She passed by my crowded dog run for the third time, and then she stopped and said, 'I think I'll take that one … I'll take the blind one.'"

"What a great gift, and I was so moved by it," Oprah says. "I got this card, I went and wrote this [organization] a $10,000 check immediately."

Next »