Come one, come all! Fur babies came to get pictures with Santa and they had a ball! That’s right - small dogs, large dogs, old and young dogs all came out to McAfee Animal Hospital on Sunday to have their picture taken with Santa. The event was hosted by Guardians of the Green Mile, a non-profit organization that saves pets from kill shelters and relieves the financial burdens on rescues, to raise money for vet bills. Not only were there pet photos, but a bake sale and items from Broken Bone Pet Products were set up to help support Guardians.
Many fostered pets that were rescued through Guardians of the Green Mile were there to show their endorsement for the group, like Carl Kurek who has taken in Martha. Martha is a rescue dog, who is an old lady now with cancer, and they have been backed by Guardians to help with vet bills and complete their bucket list for Martha.
“One of the things we’ve been working on to complete is getting one hundred hugs for Martha. Some of the list has been completed so far, like having a spa day, playing in the snow, she ate turkey on Thanksgiving and she met Santa today. So Guardians have invited us here to do that and to get hugs from visitors,” said Kurek.
Along with Martha in attendance was Kenna Howard, a volunteer for Guardian’s events, who came out to offer aid for the bake sale. “We do a lot of events like almost every weekend and we have one or two big events a month, but it’s always nice to see people come to help us,” she said.
In addition to the bake sale was Tom Mitchell, whose company Broken Bone was there to sell his handmade pet products like blankets, squeaky toys, and ropes. “Most of the proceeds of the things I sell go to shelters like Guardians so it’s nice to come out and support them on events like this one,” he said.
Overall it was a successful event filled with a flurry of two and four legged visitors. Even Doctor Larry McAfee brought the joy to families and their pets as he fit the look and role of Santa all the way down to his matching Crocs. All of the thanks goes to Sherri Christopher and her merry band of helpers, including the six foot one elf.
Until next holiday season will there be another opportunity to get photos for your furry best friends, but this one surely spread the Christmas cheer.
Click here to see more photos from the event!