Every girl on my class wanted Princess Daffodil doll for Christmas. “She’s so pretty!” they said. “She can sing songs too!”, “Her dress is so beautiful.”, “I’m going to ask if I can get her castle too. Or the horse.” Princess Daffodil was the dream toy of every girl. She had long and beautiful golden hair, and her dress had lots of tulle and silk and sparkle. She could sing five different songs, more than any other princess doll on the market. And she had a horse too. It was called Dandelion and it could drink water. Amazing.

Every other girl wanted Princess Daffodil, except me. I wanted to have Dexter the robotic dog. It had voice recognition, it could do tricks and if you went online and entered a code on their website, you could take care of the dog in their game. It all sounded amazing. I’d play with him a lot and take care of him every day. Dexter was the only thing I asked from Santa.

On the Christmas Eve evening, we sat down in front the Christmas tree to open the gifts Santa had left outside. My sister, one year younger than me, got a princess Daffodil just as she had wished. She was overjoyed. The glitter in the doll’s dress sparkled in the colours of our tree. My sister pressed the button on the doll, and she sang a song to us with her pretty voice.

I started opening my gift with shaking hands. The gift was around the same size I knew Dexter’s box was. It was so exciting, so nerve-wrecking. I had been such a good girl all year. My biggest wish was to get a puppy. But I couldn’t have one. It was too much hassle, my parents said. So, I wanted to at least have Dexter.

I ripped the paper off and I squealed. It was him! It really was him. I had got my robotic puppy. He was sleeping in his box, but I knew that as soon as I’d put batteries on it, his eyes would light up in blue. I’d give him a name, I’d probably just call him Dexter, and then he’d recognize my voice. I’d tell him to sit and lie down, and dance and make a flip. And he would do them because he was a good dog. And in the morning, I’d go to my mum’s computer and take care of him in the game.

“Can I put batteries on it now? Please?” I asked mum and dad.

“Fine but don’t play with it all night,” they said.

“Thank you!”

After dad put the batteries in the dog, I ran to my room. Anxiously I sat on the floor and put Dexter in front of me. I flipped the switch on its belly and after a few seconds his eyes flashed, he blinked and big blue eyes appeared on the screen that was his face.

“Hello Dexter,” I said with a beaming smile. He responded with a bark.

“Dexter, sit down.” Slowly the dog sat.

“Good boy. Dexter, lie down.” Slowly the dog lied down.

“Well done. Dexter, can you dance?” The dog stood up, played a little jingle and walked around while it played. I was so happy I felt like I couldn’t contain all the joy.

“You’re such a good dog. I will never throw you away” Dexter’s eyes flashed, and he looked happy.

Dexter doesn’t work anymore, not even with the best batteries. His eyes don’t light up and it doesn’t dance. But still he has an honorary spot on my bookshelf. He was my first dog after all.