STORY AND PHOTOS BY KAREN BOSSICK
Santa Claus had expected a furry little Christmas with a bunch of dogs barking around the Christmas tree.
But his droll little mouth drawn up like a bow dropped open in amazement as a youngster climbed on the seat next to him, an albino snake in hand.
Mountain Humane’s Holiday Open House—a chance for pets to have their picture taken with Santa—produced a few surprises indeed!
It was a chance for Santa Paws to look at Jazz the Rottweiler and Jaycee the lab and try to tell which one had been naughty and which one had been nice.
It was a chance for sled dog types to don a pair of felt antlers and turn into rein-dogs in hopes of joining Santa on his around-the-world voyage.
It was a chance for the little guys to jump from the car with a clatter and dachshund through the snow.
And it was a chance for to pet owners and their pets alike to get a paws up on a Happy Howl-idaze season.
“My dog loves the holidays because he gets to go for rides every night to look at the Christmas lights. And he gets to lick the gingerbread icing,” said Anna Needham.
“Oakley likes Christmas because he gets dog bones and infinite treats,” said McKay Olson of his goldendoodle. “And he likes it because he’s a very social animal and we have friends over during the holidays.”
Chris Owens traded the humidity of Nashville while his daughter and son-in-law traded the humidity and hurricanes of Miami for the Christmas snows of the Wood River Valley. And their Saint Bernoodles are in love with the snows of Christmas.
“This is Berkeley’s fourth Christmas and she loves Christmas anything. It’s all about extra treats and snow,” said Owens.
Santa Paws, aka Michael Bosse, was making his first appearance as Santa on behalf of the old guy at the North Pole. And he was just as happy it was dogs climbing up on his throne rather than children.
“Dogs are easy. You don’t have to entertain them when they sit down,” he said. “You don’t even have to a do a ‘Ho, ho, ho’ with them. They’re just happy to sit here and be with me.”