Sandy Claws

Today, I volunteered my time to play Santa at a pet store up in Madison.   I've done it now for the past two years and have had a lot of fun doing it each time.   It's not difficult, really, as I just don a suit, sit in a chair near the front of the store, and talk to all the pet owners that happen by.   Being that Christmas is just a couple weeks away, the store was understandably busy and well traveled with customers wanting a quick photo with Santa.   It was all to benefit the Greyhound Pets of America group that we adopted our big guy from a few years ago.   Sitting there, I met all sorts of interesting pets: a chihuahua that barely fit in the palm of my hand, a greyhound well-known to the group, a puggle that couldn't get enough of my beard, and an amazing Akita that looked ferocious but had a coat on him that was softer than a goose down pillow.   Lots of traffic came through, earning the GPA a lot of much needed proceeds for the hounds, and I had a great time portraying the man in red.   While I wasn't able to take a picture of myself for the blog, I had a bobble head Santa that stood in for me just fine.   I hope that since I worked hard at listening to some kids' wishes as well as being helpful with the hounds, that Santa will remember this day and put me right back on the nice list.