iStock/Thinkstock(NEW YORK) — A 7-year-old girl got her Christmas wish early this year when Santa surprised her with a puppy during a holiday photo shoot.
“She was shocked because she really had no idea,” mom Carman Richison of Westland, Michigan, told ABC News. “She was happy and surprised, but a little bit scared too. Santa had to leave and right when Santa left, she didn’t know she was really taking this dog home.”
“I said, ‘What do you mean? Santa doesn’t take gifts back honey.’ As soon as she knew this was our dog, she was ecstatic,” Richison added.
Makaela Mongo, 7, has been battling bone cancer since August 2015. On Oct. 13, Makaela had to have her left leg amputated due to her illness. She is still undergoing chemotherapy, her mother said.
“She stayed pretty positive throughout all of it,” Richison said. “She understands stand that this is what needed to happen in order for her to live a long quality life, for her to be here. She’s never once ever cried or been sad, ‘woe is me’ … never once. Even the day of her surgery, I think we were more nervous than she was.”
In February, Mary Rosecrans, owner of Rosecrans Picture Perfect Photography, met Makaela and her mother during a photo session.
Rosecrans, 47, offers free pictures for families who are touched by cancer, she told ABC News.
“What I noticed about Makaela was she always worried about her mom,” Rosecrans said. “She’s always so concerned how her mom’s going to handle the next surgery, the next bout with chemo. At 7 years old, she’s selfless, which I think is pretty rare.”
On Dec. 3, Rosecrans and Richison organized for Makaela to have a special visit with Santa at a photography studio. There, Makaela asked him for a puppy for Christmas.
“Talking to her mom, it just occurred to me that a little puppy might make her healing process better,” Rosecrans said. “We ended up finding a really neat Yorkie puppy in Indiana.”
Moments after Makaela sat on his lap, Santa Claus, portrayed by Rosecrans’ boyfriend, Ted Doute, revealed the Yorkie from his toy bag.
Rosecrans captured the moment Makaela’s face lit up on camera.
“She’s been wanting to have that companionship, wanting that responsibility and saying, ‘Mommy, I can do it. I can be responsible.’ So, I was really happy for her,” Richison said.
Makaela began chemo again on Dec. 6 and is excited to get home to her new dog, whom she’s named Jaxon.
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