The Christmas Shepherd

2014
6.7| 1h24m| en
Details

Sally Brown, a successful children's book author and Army widow loses her late husband's German Shepherd, Buddy, only to later find him adopted by a new family - single father Mark Green and his teenage daughter Emma. Each finds a sense of Christmas spirit as they struggle to decide with whom the dog really belongs.

AD
AD

Watch Free for 30 Days

Stream on any device, 7-day free trial Watch Now

Trailers & Clips

Reviews

Interesteg What makes it different from others?
Spoonatects Am i the only one who thinks........Average?
Humbersi The first must-see film of the year.
Janis One of the most extraordinary films you will see this year. Take that as you want.
cboozb-1 I'm sorry-The shelter owner should be .... I can't say ... it's too terrible. The character of the father - how can he even entertain he idea of keeping the dog. It is just beyond me. Buddy is not the only dog on planet earth! Immediately return the dog and then take your daughter around to all the myriad shelters that have more dogs than you can imagine so she can adopt one . The. After putting poor Teri Polo's character through all their sh-, the little girl just decides the return Buddy. What ?!?!? This thing just doesn't work.
Jack Vasen I have tagged this spoilers although I haven't given much away that wasn't either early in the movie, or pretty obvious.A beautiful sweet almost teen girl and a dog, how can you go wrong? And it was nice. I'm pretty sure I haven't seen a story setup like this.I was a little distracted by the ambiguity of what was the right thing to do in the early part of the movie. Many critics have gone overboard in their criticism. Yes Mark and Emma struggled. Who doesn't sometimes struggle with doing the right thing? Instead of my first knee-jerk reaction which was to be appalled, as the story developed I realized this was a very realistic struggle. The one valid criticism is how quickly the shelters passed the dog along to the point of adoption. That is irresponsible, but the explanation was that they were all over-crowded. A little lame maybe.But there were no bad guys in this movie. Sally was very gracious even in her struggle that they might not give Buddy back. Emma was an unselfish and kind young lady when she realized what she had to do. I say pretty good for her age. And Dad was patient, avoiding any rash irreversible decision. The acting was very good. I have seen Teri Polo only once before but I am starting to really respect her acting, especially in these heartwarming stories. She is especially good with little girls. She has a great nurturing spirit. Both she and Jordyn Ashley Olson had to deal with their characters' difficult emotions and the emotional struggle of potential loss heaped on top of a history of a lost loved one. Olson managed to show how attached she was, yet made her choice real. Olson was also great in the rest of the story. Martin Cummins was also great as his character dealt with the moral dilemma vs protecting his daughter. Ace, the dog actor, was superbly trained. He managed some complicated maneuvers.This is quite simply a wonderful and touching Christmas movie that doesn't have a ton of Christmas clichés piled up. It is compelling and real.
luticrist I can't remember the last time I saw a movie so infuriating. It borders on violence. First, the daughter is possibly the worst character in fiction only just beating her father. Polo is frustrating for not asserting her ownership, taking the dog and ending this crapfest 20 minutes in. How in the hell can any half decent human being justify stealing someones dog. Make no mistake, this daughter, this spoiled rotten, pathetic piece of shite is dead set on stealing this woman's dog to make herself happy....DO YOU GET THAT?!! We have jails full of people who did the exact same thing for the exact same motives, "I'm not happy. You have something I want and that makes me angry so I'm taking it..." Then her father supports her in this endeavor? My kid would be catching a hefty ass whoopin for the same intentions and the thought of keeping anyone's family member/dog when they so desperately want them back is appalling. Polo's character does not fail to show how much this dog mean to her, the dog clearly shows how much he loves her as his true owner. I'd rather beat myself over the head with my television than watch this disgusting crap.
boblipton This is one of the Hallmark Channel Christmas movies for 2014 -- they have been producing twelve of them every year for the last few years. It's one of their dog-centered pieces, as a German shepherd plays the go-between for the two romantic leads, Teri Polo and Mark Cummins and the effect is well done, with a nice, quizzical beast in the title role.I have some issues with the production. It is supposedly set in Massachussetts in November, although there are several outdoors shots with trees wearing their summer leaves. There isn't much to it except for the central cast: widowed Teri Polo and her dog, widower Mark Cummins and his daughter, played by Jordyn Ashley Olson. It's a sentimental woman's movie that should please its intended audience of adult women and dog lovers.