12/12/17 — Pets get to tell Santa Claus what they want for Christmas

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Pets get to tell Santa Claus what they want for Christmas

By Ethan Smith
Published in News on December 12, 2017 5:50 AM

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News-Argus/ETHAN SMITH

Dean Combs tries to get his dog, Candie, to pose for a photo with Santa Claus. Tractor Supply Co. held a fundraiser Saturday where people could donate $10 to the Wayne County Humane Society to have their pets' photo taken with Santa Claus.

Candie doesn't know what to make of Santa.

But from the looks of it, she hasn't quite warmed up to Ol' Saint Nick just yet.

The 2-year-old pup was hesitant about the big man with the bushy white beard in the bright red suit.

She barked and lowered herself down to the ground, curling her back and backing away slowly from Santa.

But, as her owners Dean and Kathy Combs provided Santa treats to bribe Candie with, she warmed up to him.

Candie was one of more than a dozen animals to get their photos taken with Santa at Tractor Supply of Goldsboro off of West Grantham Street Saturday.

The event was a way to raise money for the Wayne County Humane Society. Photos were $10, and all proceeds went to the organization.

Dean Combs delivers car parts for Carquest and went to a garage one day on North William Street, and found Candie there.

The owner of the garage eventually decided to give her to the shelter, and Dean knew something needed to be done.

He went to the animal shelter, and he and his wife offered to pay the cost of adoption if someone could find a good home for Candie and wanted to adopt her.

Kathy said eventually Candie's time came when the shelter could no longer house her, and they went to the shelter and adopted her themselves.

Dean said they tried to adopt her out to another family in the Dudley area, but after a visit out to her potential home, he decided it would be best if Candie stayed right where she was, with the Combses.

Now, Candie and her new family are inseparable -- she tried to scurry over to her dad several times while photographer Suzi Wharton, with the Humane Society, was trying to snap photos.

But not every animal that came through the store was hesitant about Santa -- someone brought in two horses, and got photos of them with the jolly old man from the North Pole.

The $10 donation to the society got the pet owners a 4-by-6 photo on the spot.

The Humane Society has held the same event in years past at Pet Supplies Plus, and has done it at Tractor Supply for the past two years.

The organization offers spay and neuter programs to low- and fixed-income families, and also has a pet food pantry.