The nice, cool mornings of fall are quickly turning into the chilly mornings of early winter.

And aside from the effect on the tree leaves — many of which have quickly turned brown, then hit the ground — for those of us more inclined to heat than cold, we’ve hit a turning point in the year.

For the lady of our house, it’s all down hill until the spring.

Mornings are miserably cold, trips to the bathroom are a necessary evil to be avoided if at all possible, and well, the only real happiness can be found in front of a heater or in a warm lap.

And for Suzy, our house doesn’t have enough heaters or laps.

Except for a few warm snaps, she’ll be fairly miserable until the weather warms up in the spring.

But despite her cold-induced melancholy, Suzy still brings great joy to Julie and I.

Julie rescued Suzy from the Natchez-Adams County Humane Society’s shelter several years before Julie and I met.

She apparently selected her, in part, because she was shy and quiet and quite cute as she hunkered down in her cage as Julie walked along the cages, looking for a new friend to take home.

Emotions run high at animal shelters.

Prospective pet parents can get overwhelmed with all of the choices — and the sights, sounds and smells.

But in the end, some amazing, life-changing things can happen when a person opens up their lives to an adoptive animal.

Julie and I often laugh about Suzy and her moods and motives.

Occasionally, you think, “Wow, this is the sweetest dog in the world. She cares so much about us that she epitomizes the love we’re supposed to have for one another.”

That’s seen in her incredible welcome-homes she provides each and every day. For her, our coming from work or even from a quick trip to the store is worthy of extreme celebration.

She runs through the house, she jumps up and down, she whines and whimpers — all in a celebratory fashion.

At the end of the day, nothing quite matches having that kind of welcome.

Imagine how strange it would be if every person you know reacted that way each time they saw you. Trips to the grocery store might take hours, given the likelihood of seeing dozens of folks you know.

But just when we think Suzy is the most loving little being, we quickly find that our hairy little friend has a selfish streak — a mile wide one.

She will do practically anything to find comfort or happiness for herself.

Leave her alone in the house and she’ll quickly jump onto furniture, despite knowing that’s not allowed.

She’ll misbehave and whine like crazy if she thinks doing so might get her a small piece of table scraps.

And in general, she’s quite human like — gloriously selfless at times and amazingly selfish at other times.

At the end of the day, the positives Suzy brings to our household far outweigh the negatives.

Today, our newspaper kicks off its annual look at many of the local charities and their needs. Giving — whether one gives money or time or a home for an abandoned animal — is the holiday season’s main purpose.

We have a great example of the ultimate giver in God’s great gift to humanity, the most precious gift of all.

His example serves as a wonderful model for us to follow. No matter our position in life, we all can give something.

Kevin Cooper is publisher of The Democrat. He can be reached at 601-445-3539 or kevin.cooper@natchezdemocrat.com.