I got to be Santa Claus

My wife and I know some people who are involved in animal rescue and adoption. For 5 or 10 years they have been raising money by doing a pet photo with Santa day. Lately they’ve been doing the thing at PetSmart where they set up and split the proceeds – it gets a good crowd and more advertising. The first year, though, they did it at the animal hospital they work out of. And for whatever reason they asked me to be Santa. Just so you kids understand, while Santa can get around the whole world in one night, a lot of us try to help out around Christmas time so that he doesn’t have to be all over the place all at once. So before Christmas, some of us volunteer so he can have some extra time during this really busy time of the year.

So I was asked to play Santa for the pets and I thought it was a pretty cool idea. They told me that they had everything I needed including a Santa suit. But they had one of the cheap ones. I was working, and I wanted to go all out, so I went to a local costume shop that did costumes for professional events (parades and major theater productions) and I rented a really fancy Santa outfit. It was a nice, plush velvet suit trimmed in (fake) fur, a big belt, hat, beard, glasses, white gloves and some makeup to cover the hair I had that wasn’t white. I also got myself some boots and some fiberfill for padding. When I was finished getting dressed I looked pretty good. The animal rescue people set up a little spot in the waiting room of the vet with a chair for me, a nice backdrop and the tree they already had there. It was a nice setup. Of course, I had no idea what I was doing.

The day was well planned. First they brought out all of the animals they had for adoption. They wanted to use the Santa pictures to help find homes for the pets. They had all sorts of cats and dogs come out to have their pictures taken with Santa, including Bullet – the cat that was found living at a shooting range, and Squash. Squash was a cat that was run over by a car. He had his jaw wired shut, bandages wrapped around him, drains and a feeding tube. He was put on a little table in front of me and I wrapped my arms around him in just the right way to hide all of the various bandages. He was a great cat. He didn’t complain and he was kind of cute. He was adopted – by a vet tech.

After the shelter animals, the day was split into cats and dogs. The cats were there before lunch – long hair, short hair, large and small, all breeds. One woman even brought in three Maine Coon cats at one time. I could barely hold all three at once, but it worked. Everyone was well behaved, and the cat photos worked out pretty well. After lunch the dogs showed. Cats are a little hard to get to cooperate, but if they’re calm enough to bring in they can be handled even if they do get a little nervous and maybe get their claws out a bit. Dogs, however, can be more insistent about their resistance. The little dogs squirm and the big ones try to get away or drag you with them. When you’re wearing slippery Santa gloves, that can be a problem.

But it all worked out. I held the little dogs on my lap or in my arms, just like the cats. The medium sized dogs sat next to me and the big ones sat on the floor in front of me and I made sure we were both in the picture. With multiple dogs, you just fit them wherever there’s room. One of the dogs, which actually belonged to one of the techs, was a bit of a problem. She was a bulldog with an attitude, but I’m being redundant. I think I handled her well. She really only liked one person, but she didn’t seem to hate me all that much. I was just careful to watch out for her, um, attitude.

Then there was the dog that just would not look at the camera. The girl taking the pictures, who did a great job, just could not get this dog’s attention no matter what. She made noise, waved things and squeaked toys. I couldn’t just hold the dog’s head pointing at the camera because that wouldn’t look right. So the two other girls who were helping with the animals started to try to get the dog’s attention. Then my wife started waving a toy to get the dog’s attention. When it was all over, there was the photographer waving, two people making noise, my wife waving a toy and a fifth person who went hopping by on one foot making noise and waving her arms. The dog looked up. The camera flashed. We got a good picture. I almost fell over in a fit of laughter. Oh I wish I had a camera. I don’t know how I held it in for the picture because I almost fell on the floor.

Besides all of the animals, there were also some family members who got their pictures taken as well. Not everyone planned on that, but when they showed up, and Santa was there, some of them just decided to go ahead with it. Sometimes it was a family shot with the animal, sometimes just the kids and usually it was people who had dressed up just for the occasion.

Then there was this one kid. He was about 10 years old and he came in with his family – parents and siblings – to get a picture of the family dog with Santa. All they wanted was a picture of the dog, nothing with the family. And they all had fun with it. It was a quiet setting because everything had been well planned and people came in at well spaced times. There was a nice spot with me as Santa, and a tree and presents and a nice backdrop. There were just a few other people around. It made for a very calm environment. The picture with the dog went well and we finished that.

And then we got a very touching question. The parents asked if they could get a picture of just their son with Santa. This was a pet photo session, so they weren’t sure if it was something they should ask or not. We were in a vet’s office, and they had only paid for a pet photo, so they hesitated a little. It was just that the son was really happy and excited to see Santa. There are plenty of places to get a picture of a kid with Santa in a mall or a big store. But malls are noisy and bright and crowded with lots of kids and parents and shoppers and lights and decorations. That was all just a little too much for this boy, though. He was autistic and that sort of thing made him very upset. He was too afraid to ever go to a mall to see Santa. But this was different. This was just his family and a few other people in a calm setting and his dog was there. The boy was excited to see Santa yet calm and his parents wondered if maybe they could get a picture because they just never had an opportunity to do that with their son. Of course the answer was yes.

So I got to be Santa for a boy who would never have had a picture with Santa any other way.

You know, all I did was sit there. Oh, I acted the part and I talked to him in a quiet and friendly voice, but it really isn’t that much to do. But if I ever wondered about the money I spent on that costume when I rented it…

It’s been years since this happened, and I’ve been Santa since then, but I am never going to forget that moment. I was very lucky to be there that day and be Santa for that boy. I don’t know what I did to deserve that, but I am very grateful.

Oh, and if you were wondering, I did get peed on - just once, by the last dog of the day.