A long line of little reindeer and elves waited patiently outside of Gillette’s Photography Studios Sunday to take pictures with Santa Claus.
Although it seems like this is a normal holiday family outing, this long line consisted of nearly 200 dogs and cats dressed in holiday attire who wanted to sit on Santa’s lap this Christmas season.
Each year, Capital Area Animal Welfare Society hosts its annual Santa Paws event for the Baton Rouge community, and University students bring their friends to take pictures with Santa Claus.
Several members of the LSU community brought their pets to see Santa Claus.
Kristen McKinley brought her dog, Issac, to take pictures with Santa.
“My dog is my best friend,” she said, “I take pictures with Santa every year. I wanted to get Issac involved.”
Jennifer LaBorde, a junior in pre-veterinary medicine, brought her dogs Sebastian, Belle and Abigail to take pictures with her son, Dylan.
“I thought it would make such a cute Christmas card,” she said.
Associate Dean of Students Kathleen White brought her golden retriever Murphy to the event. White also brought her friend’s dogs, LuLu and Dixie, to take pictures as an early Christmas gift.
“This is such a fun thing to do for a great cause,” White said, while holding Dixie and LuLu.
The majority of the proceeds go directly to maintaining CAAWS’ program.
CAAWS is a non-profit organization committed to the well-being of animals in the Baton Rouge community. This volunteer organization places homeless animals in loving homes, educates the community about responsible pet ownership and promotes the practice of spaying and neutering,
Many students at LSU are active volunteers at CAAWS.
Stephanie Efferson, a junior in secondary education, has been volunteering at CAAWS for the past two years.
“I love animals, and CAAWS always needs more volunteers,” Efferson said.
CAAWS is always looking for more volunteers to help place animals into homes. Anyone interested in joining CAAWS in their mission may call CAAWS at (225) 752-5801 or visit their Web site at www.caaws.org.
