It may not be the big man in red, but with Max the mini pony decked out in his best holiday gear, it’s definitely an off the wall take on a classic Christmas festivity.
Helping to create new traditions and long-lasting memories, Off the Wall Eyewear Emporium in Moncton brought in back up on Wednesday… a mini pony and adoptable bunnies.
"Sometimes I see younger kids than me, they walk in and their eyes light up like into smithereens like stars all over and so happy,” said 11-year-old Amelia Charlebois who spent the afternoon playing with all the pets.
“It’s more strange and rare to have such a photo,” she said in response to the new take on an old tradition.
Not only was it an opportunity to snap that perfect holiday photo, but also a chance to give back to the People for Animal Wellbeing (PAW) shelter.
The local business is accepting all kinds of donations at the store for animals in need.
"We would love to see it just have tons of cash, tons of stuff dropped off so that we could give it to them, but anything that’s exposure for PAWS or for the animals is good,” said owner and optician of Off the Wall Eyewear Emporium, Steven Charlebois.
For the family, it was an easy decision to give back to the shelter.
“We’re big pet people,” he added. “We have like four dogs, we have a hedgehog,” and the crew is expected to grow by one more in the coming weeks.
Right now the shelter is in need of cat and dog toys and food, rabbit and guinea pig supplies liquid laundry soap, dish soap and cat litter.
"November and December have been really busy, we've seen a lot of animals come in in the last couple of months, so these donations are really needed, they help keep us going over winter,” said Heather Smith, executive director of PAWS.
She says that right now there are over 100 cats at the shelter and it goes through bags of food and boxes of litter on a daily bases.
“We have a great team at PAW, but we wouldn't exist without the support of the community,” she said. “So when a local business, such as Off the Wall Eyewear Emporium steps forward to support us, we just think that’s amazing. They have a direct impact on the animals at the shelter.
Not only is the business accepting donations, but also helping to give exposure to some adoptable pets like bunnies Autumn, Hersey Kisses and Cookies and Cream.
“Rabbits tend to be a little bit harder to adopt,” she said. “I asked the staff, can you tell me about these particular bunnies because they know them far better than I do and they said Autumn is so sweet, she loves love. She will fall asleep in your arms if you stroke her nose.”
The other two, Hersey Kisses and Cookies and Cream are a friendly, bonded pair looking for a home together.
However, Smith does caution families to really think before adopting a pet for Christmas since they are a life-long commitment.
Now although Wednesday’s event was quite unique, bringing lots of young children out for the chance to hangout with Max, with the whole family being animal lovers, it isn’t the first time they’ve found a creative way to bring the community together.
"We've had ponies in the store in the past...we've had llamas, goats, we've had bring a zoo to you, we've done a birthday party here, so it's just something that we do to just get people happy,” said Charlebois.
“If we could have a farm, we’d be there already,” he said.
There are no bigger animal photo ops planned before Christmas at the Moncton location, however, Off the Wall Eyewear Emporium is still accepting donations until at least the end of the week.
The animal shelter is also holding one of its biggest fundraisers right now as well.
