Why I Love Santa

It's important when you love animals that you marry somebody that shares this love or at least loves you enough to tolerate your cuckoo-ness over animals. I got lucky on many levels by not only marrying a man that adores creatures of this world, but also adores me enough to support me in every way as I journey through life with a great focus on our animal companions.
Case in point - my darling husband Alex, my partner in everything big and small agreed to play Santa for a charity photo shoot at a local dog store we wholesale collars to. Proceeds went to one of our favorite charities - Save Our Setters Inc.
I don't know too many men who would so readily say "Sure! My one day off a week? I'll put on a beard and a hot furry costume that will make me feel like my core temperature is 160 degrees and let dogs jump/ sit/pee/shed and express anal glands on me for 5 hours! Sign me up!"
He's a prince among men I tell you. (and yes he really did have anal glands expressed on him by a rather nervous pug who released this "special gift" on Santa's lap - not the smell of Gingerbread and Cinnamon I tell you)
Indeed, my hubby is a special guy. The type of guy who will wrestle a 3 legged labrador named Licorice who just didn't want to sit still for a Holiday Photo and gave the photographer and Santa an aerobic workout that left them panting harder than her. Licorice with her 3 legs just about knocked over the set and had Santa's beard and hat askew by the time the photo was finally taken. Alex's comment as an exhausted Licorice left the photo area "We should all be so excited for Christmas! We need to rescue a labrador!"
I should add by the end of the event he also thought we should adopt a Great Dane, a Dachshund and at least 3 greyhounds.
I love my Santa for many reasons and after 14 years of marriage and 20 years of being together I keep finding new reasons, animal related and otherwise. Playing Santa on his day off with so much enthusiasm is just a small nugget of him, but one I had to talk about nonetheless. Watching him love animals in a way I know some people will never have the capacity to makes me love him even more... and was the nicest Christmas present this animal loving wife could ask for.