On December 22, 2005, our daughter left our house in Mexico in search of tortillas and came back instead with a miracle: a small black street dog with soulful eyes, half-cocked ears and a tail that curled over her back in a perfect circle. From the moment we saw her, as sad and dusty as she was, we knew this was the dog for us. In honour of the season and the chance that brought her to us, we called her Milagro, Spanish for miracle. She instantly became Millie and, just as instantly, an indis...