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Lately, Barrett has been scaling back on social media, but the Christmas card tradition, which began four years ago, is still going strong.<\/p>\n
Every year around Halloween, Percy sends out an invitation to his legions of fans. \u201cDo you want a pawliday card from me and Dolly and Herbie this year?\u201d he posted earlier this month. \u201cLet me know in the comments below!\u201d<\/p>\n
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Barrett sent out 72 cards last year to Percy\u2019s followers (some human, some canine), and has plans for a similar number this year. Some go to folks in Halifax, but others go to followers all over the world, in Germany and El Salvador and Australia.<\/p>\n
\u201cSometimes when I sit back and think about the idea that I pretend to be a dog on the internet and I send cards to people all over the world every holiday season, I just kind of take a deep breath and think that life has taken some strange turns,\u201d he said in an interview.<\/p>\n
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\n\t\t\tMore on Canada<\/button>More videos<\/button>\n\t\t<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\nThis season\u2019s card, designed by a friend, is an homage to the holiday comedy Home Alone, with Percy as a shaggier Macaulay Culkin. In years past, the cards have paid tribute to other popular holiday movies, A Nightmare Before Christmas, National Lampoon\u2019s Christmas Vacation, and A Christmas Story.<\/p>\n
Barrett said he personalizes the messages as much as he can. He\u2019ll put on a Christmas movie, sit down and bang them out over a couple of nights, and send them out in early December.<\/p>\n
This year, though, Barrett doesn\u2019t know when he\u2019ll get the cards out the door. He supports the 55,000 Canada Post workers who walked off the job on Nov. 15 \u2014 so does Percy \u2014 but he said he may deliver cards to local friends and followers in person if the strike continues.<\/p>\n
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He might also send out digital cards to people who want them, he said, though he would rather not. \u201cI like getting mail and giving mail,\u201d he said. \u201cI think that\u2019s sort of a lost art or lost joy.\u201d<\/p>\n
So this year, Percy\u2019s long-distance followers may not get their Christmas cards until sometime after the holidays. But Barrett said there might be an upside to the extra wait, if it comes to that.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou know what it\u2019s like \u2026 in mid-February,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd so it\u2019s nice to get those cards a little later. It sort of gives you a little boost in the middle of the winter.\u201d<\/p>\n
Barrett doesn\u2019t make any money off the Christmas cards, and the printing and postage aren\u2019t cheap. But he said the tradition makes him feel connected to other people.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m never going to be the prime minister of the country. I\u2019m never going to be the leader of a company, or a president of something, or the CEO of anything,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m just a small-time guy on the East Coast of Canada. But I get to bring a little joy to people all over the world.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
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