Creatures Great, Small Get Portrait With Santa

Forget about the kids. Santa had his hands full Saturday as more than 40 pets and their owners lined up to have pictures taken with the red-suited gift-giver at a Santa Clarita pet store--all to benefit an animal assistance organization.

The scene at Dan’s Pet Supply was like a zoo as pet owners paraded in such animals as Twiggy the Iguana, a spider monkey, and a tailless rat its owner had dressed up in bat wings. There was a snake, a cockatoo and numerous cats and dogs--including a Rottweiler that store owner Dan Jones said “must have been the size of a Shetland pony.”

“Santa wasn’t too happy about that one,” he said. “Gosh, that was a big animal.”

For a $5 fee that was donated to Pet Assistance, a local group that helps find homes for lost pets, owners got a Polaroid snapshot of their pet sitting on Santa’s lap. This event followed a parade of animals around the store on Halloween.

Most of the animals behaved themselves during this holiday benefit, Jones said.

“A couple of cats jumped over Santa’s shoulder and onto a nearby Christmas tree,” he said. “Owners were coaxing their pets to look toward the camera. It’s amazing and funny how animals understand and respond. Some were afraid, of course, but most seemed like they were really into it.”

About $200 was raised for the cause. “Most of the day, the owners were lined up 10 deep,” Jones said. “Our Santa was busier than the one at the mall, easy.”

But lest Santa think he was going to escape unscathed, one shaking little Chihuahua lost control of himself and left his calling card on Santa’s lap. But there was little delay in the festivities.

“Santa said he often gets a warm feeling from his work,” Jones said, “but not that warm.”