PENHOLD – If Santa Claus could not find the right words for his special furry and scaly admirers he certainly had the right touch.
There were no oohs and aahs coming his way but plenty of purrs, chirps and wagging tails.
For the second year in a row Penhold’s Antler Hill Veterinary Services hosted its Pet Photos with Santa event on Nov. 30.
What made the three-hour event even more special was that it was a fundraiser for the Penhold Optimist Club. Humans accompanying their beloved critter friends were asked to donate $5 towards the service club’s sacred community mission to build a skatepark for the community.
It was a laid back but festive affair. Lots of tail-wagging dogs, purring cats, and even a couple of tortoises and a foursome of sugar gliders, which are small nocturnal gliding possums native to Australia and New Guinea.
“One (sugar glider) let out a pretty good hiss, was quite vocal and we were worried that Santa might get bit, but there were no altercations,”said a smiling Dr. Michael Scheck, co-owner of the Penhold veterinary service, which first opened in town just over a year ago. He also noted that not all attending kitties, with the exception of a docile Maine Coon named Thunder, were amused by their humans’ insistence they take a photo with Santa.
“They were not nearly as calm as Thunder. He’s a trooper for sure. He’s done good,” added the doctor. “The others were quite stressed. Trying to get a good picture of them was quite difficult.”
But in the end all kitties cooperated, as did the many attending pooches, as well as the pair of tortoises.
Most importantly the event was a good community-minded event for citizens to come down to not only see the still new facility but to get into the holiday spirit.
“People will come in and enjoy the visit with Santa and meet new people,” said Scheck. “Everybody loves to have their pets have a picture with Santa.”
However, Scheck emphasized the primary goal of the event was to lend a hand to citizens who are trying to help youth in the community who may not have had the good experiences he and his staff members were fortunate enough to experience.
“Penhold is just a good place for them (youth) to grow up and be good people, and that their community cares about them and they are not alone,” he said.
The fundraiser ended with $500 raised, with more expected to come, for the service club to help build the new skatepark for the town's youth.
