Pet photo event in Timmins creates holiday memories, raises money for humane society

The most wonderful time of the year is approaching — and families are starting to get into the Holiday spirit with Christmas photos.

But not just humans, their pets are joining in the Holiday tradition, too.

The Timmins Humane Society held its annual Christmas pet photo event Saturday, to create Holiday memories and raise money for the local animal shelter. It continues Sunday.

It’s a fluffy and festive photo session at the local YMCA, as the humane society invites animals and their owners to capture some Holiday memories.

They get to meet Santa Claus himself, who tells CTV that it’s a wildly fun and unpredictable event.

“I had a ferret get tangled up in the beard,” Santa said.

“I had a cat, once, sort of scratch me on the side of the cheek and pull my head off. I once had a German shepherd decide to mark his territory on Santa’s boot. Every year, there seems to be a little story.”

The event often attracts return visitors, he said, and is a way for pet parents to look back at their growing fur families — and a chance to start new traditions.

“It makes for really cute family photos,” said the human society’s Bianca Gagnon.

“And it’s really nice because we get a lot of animals that were from the shelter originally and they come back and we get to see how they’ve done and how they’ve adapted to their forever home.”

NOT ALL ANIMALS ARE NATURALS

Not all animals are naturals on-camera, however, so the event’s photographer said she has to be just as quick on her feet.

“You gotta’ have, like, a fast shutter and you always have to be quick, like, on the button and then just take a bunch and look through them and see which one they’re looking at,” Robin Allen said.

“And ‘squeakies’ work.”

The fun for Santa is being able to meet new furry friends or welcome back old ones, see if he can decipher their Christmas wishes … and enjoy their personalities.

“I can see if it’s a nervous dog or a, let’s say, a very weary cat,” Santa said.

“Sometimes, you know, the bigger the dog, the more chill the dog is. In the end, it’s a fun day and it’s certainly a good, steady fundraiser.”

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The event helps get everyone in the Holiday spirit, both by providing animals what they need to stay comfortable in a shelter, and for those in forever homes, memories to last a lifetime. The event goes Sunday from 11 a.m - 3 p.m.