Dogs have their day at Canine Christmas

At least a few families grew a little larger Saturday as dogs and cats found new “fur-ever” homes, thanks to a little help from Santa.

Brittany Gibson, 22, and boyfriend Kyle Soward, 25, both of Bradenton, brought Gibson’s only dog, Daisy, to Canine Christmas Festival at Bishop Animal Shelter SPCA on Saturday and left with a new sister.

Gibson and Soward adopted a lab mix named Mildred.

“We were talking about it and just kind of wanted one that was ours, but we were just looking and we found one — it was really sweet,” Gibson said. “And of course she’s a black dog too, like Daisy.”

Gibson said they come every year and get Daisy a new bandana and take pictures with Santa. And Daisy, always dressed for the occasion, comes wearing a festive collar.

The goal of the event is to help dogs and cats at Bishop Animal Shelter and other rescues that come to the event find new, permanent homes. Tags placed on each of the dogs’ cages display their Christmas wish. Some are looking for a warm lap to curl up on, others ask for owners that won’t leave them behind.

A Christmas wish for Mildred, granted.

Once they finished filling out the paperwork with Bishop Animal Shelter officials, the new four-legged sisters were reintroduced and Gibson and Soward followed Mildred’s excited steps out of the front door.

Decked out in their Christmas best, wagging tails and sniffing snouts circled the grounds of the Bishop Animal Shelter in Bradenton on Saturday for the Canine Christmas event. As of Saturday morning, the shelter tallied more than 80 adoptions in November, with more expected at the festival.

Hundreds of people and their dogs of all shapes, sizes and breeds wearing sweaters and decorative collars meandered through vendor tents and stopped to make new friends along the way. Thousands were expected to trot through the gates at this year’s event.

Dogs paraded across a small stage set up for the adoptable dogs parade and the popular Doggy Fashion Show.

Sitting under the tent, waiting their turn on stage were three 12-year-old girls dressed in costume with their three dogs.

Jade Naylor, Lilia Norwood, and Hana Kaffka waited patiently to strike a pose on stage with their dogs Jasmine, a yellow lab; Luna, a golden doodle; and Abby, a lab mix.

The trio have been best friends since they were in preschool, event attending the same elementary school, and have been in the fashion show with their dogs for years.

This year, they were dressed as elves while their dogs were reindeer. They’ve been working on the idea for the costumes for weeks.

“We wanted the dogs to not get too hot (in costumes) so they’re the reindeer,” Jade said.

Jade has won the contest before, when she and Jasmine came dressed as Santa and an elf. That time, it was Jasmine’s turn to be the elf, Jade said.

But it’s not all about winning, the girls said. It’s having fun and the chance to show off their beloved dogs.

They all plan to return next year for another round of costumes and canines.

This story was originally published November 18, 2017 at 1:47 PM with the headline "Dogs have their day at Canine Christmas."