visit with the big guy.

This year you could take your dog to the mall for photos with Santa Paws. Of course the whole draw of this for me was taking my dog to the mall. & the dogs were allowed to enter from any entrance so a nice long walk around the mall was the plan.

Bella was the perfect mall dog. She somehow knew that she was in some strange part of people land that she is not normally privy to and was on her best behavior. As we walked through the mall's concourse, she politely sniffed at the entrances of the stores but made no attempt to enter.

While waiting in line for Santa, she waited patiently; quietly and curiously taking in the sights around her.








She was much more calm and open to the waiting experience than she has been in years past when we've gone to the Humane Society  for pictures with Santa. That just makes sense. The energy of a shelter is 1,000 x more intense.
& the yummy pizza treats that we purchased from the Golden Barkery helped keep the puppy nerves calm too.

Honestly my dog is a very very good dog. Stores would get a heck of a lot more of my business if they would allow my dog to come with me when I shop.

I mean, just look at how good and sweet she is. She knows how to act.

But then......... 

We met the Man in Red..........

She tried. She really tried to be polite. She sniffed his hand and his boots, gave a polite wag of her tail and was ready to leave. I tried to get her to sit at his feet using the "get in" command that she is pretty strong with. There was just something about those big black boots. 

 In her defense, Santa looked tired and a bit overwhelmed with his day. I got the feeling that he did not sign up to be Santa Paws and was really just waiting for the whole thing to be over so he could fly his magic sleigh to snooze-ville.

 Check out her body language. She could not be any further away from him.

 In the shot of her looking to the left - she is looking at me. I moved to the center behind the photographer. It took her a minute to figure out where I went. You can see her looking around.

& here she has just figured out where I am. (If I could've figured how to place the pictures in order. You would not have to figure out what the heck I am talking about)

And - in her defense - she could've bolted at any time. Not even Santa with all his holiday magic could've held on to her 80 pounds of muscle had she really wanted to leave. I had asked her to stay and she truly wants to be a good dog and listen well. 

She is certainly on the nice list.