It was almost a very pugly Christmas for one Massachusetts family.
Tina Haupert designed the family’s 2022 Christmas card and sent them out to friends and family the first week of December.
The Haupert holiday card featured Tina, her husband Mal, their son, Quinn, and the family’s new lizard, Scales.
“This year, my son got a lizard so that was kind of the new family member,” Haupert tells TODAY.com.
But when friends and family received the Haupert’s holiday greeting card, they immediately noticed a very important family member was absent: Murphy, the family’s 13-year-old pug dog.
“He’s 13, so he has been on the Christmas card every year,” Haupert says, adding that friends and family are used to seeing his face. ” I don’t even know how it happened, I was just focused on the lizard because he was the new family.”
Concerned family and friends started messaging Haupert.
“No Murphy?” one asked.
Another texted, “I can’t believe SCALES made the holiday card and NOT Murphy.”
One friend couldn’t believe what they were seeing and demanded to know who was responsible for the card.
Others worried the poor elderly pug had died.
“Pug okay?” one asked.
Another inquired, “What happened to Murphy?”
Haupert and her husband knew they had to make it right.
“We love Murphy, and our family and friends know how much we love him,” she says, adding that Murphy is an honorary guest at nearly every event and many friends have babysat him on various occasions.
She tells TODAY.com the family printed new cards and mailed them out the next day.
“I’M STILL HERE” the card reads, with a zoomed-in photo of Murphy’s face. “Happy Holidays! Love, Murphy”
On the back of the card, a personal message from Murphy reiterates that his humans forget him on the annual card and “I assure you I am alive and well.”
“The text messages after people got Murphy’s card were so funny,” Haupert says. “People were rolling.”
A TikTok video Haupert created of the debacle has racked up over 700,000 views and more than 800 comments. The same video has reached nearly 15,000 views on Instagram.
“Honestly it was just us being our goofy selves,” Haupert says. “We just love the dog.”
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