Diary of a Real-Life Veterinarian: Pets With Santa Day

Our 2010 Pets With Santa family photo

Today is the one day I look forward to most each year at JVC.

It is the one day the whole staff comes together at JVC to deck the halls and invite the public into our entire facility. Which means there is an unimaginable amount of cleaning that goes on the week before. Which is no different than when all of the rest of us invite our families over to our homes for the holidays. We clean, scrub, dust, and organize. All of this is an even bigger challenge because JVC exists in a shoe-box. I am constantly trying to de-clutter and find clippers. It is the ongoing joke in the clinic. How the building can be so small and we still can't find anything. I am preety sure that one day in the near future we are going to start tearing down walls to expand and find a rats nest made up of clippers, and ophthalmoscopes. Where else could they go? There's one well-groomed perfect vision rat living at JVC in the rafters, I believe.

I think that this is our 5th Annual Pets With Santa fundraiser. I say fundraiser because we ask for donations to put towards our rescue pets. Last year, 2010 we took about 1100 photos for 120 people and made $785. To be completely honest I think I spent about $300 on food, snacks, and decor, but it was a great holiday party for us, and I can't ever explain to people how happy it makes me to see our clients and their pets getting dressed up and taking pictures. We have some hilarious, adorable, and priceless shots.

One of our very best friends and clients, and an old JVC employee, brought her dog, her favorite cat (she has about a dozen, probably more, I love her for that!) and her goose in last year. You should see the sequence of shots as the goose looks like we are crazy, and the cat over about 10 pictures realizes she is sitting next to a goose and then starts to react, (not so happily) to her neighbor. Those pictures are the epitome of why we do this. I mean who else has a Christmas card with a dog, a cat, and a goose?

This year Diedra and her husband won't be with us. he is not feeling well, and the 2 kids make easy pick up and go impossible. I told her I will send her videos via iphone thoughout the day. But I will miss them not being there. She makes everything more fun.

Noah, my brother set up his entire photo rig last night at 6. It is super convenient to have a brother with all of the stuff, and the talent to take great shots.

And then Kimmie, my dear, long time groomer, now new mom, and the best Santa ever! No one else I know can sit there for four hours never lose focus, never blink for a photo and not complain about it. She is perfectly poised for every shot, even the ones where the dog looks like it is sure to bite, and the cat is sure to claw. You try to sit perfectly still, smile, look straight ahead as three dogs fight with each other. If she ever asks me for a sitting fee I will pay it, I couldn't do this gig without her.

So if anyone out there can make it to Jarrettsville Maryland today between 12 and 4 we will all be there laughing, smiling, and snapping pictures. I hope to see you! Happy Holidays to you all!

I'll post pictures later.

here is the link to the entire JVC album. Enjoy. There are some adorable, charming, and belly rolling funny, pictures.

http://tinyurl.com/7s7xogu