Pet Parents

One definition of insanity is to do something over and again, expecting a different result. Another might be to find yourself in a busy department store on a Saturday morning, with two slightly out of control black labradors, sitting outside a Christmas grotto surrounded by “elves”, waiting to see Father Christmas.

Or, as John Lewis call him, Santa Paws. Yet, lo, unto Oxford Street we did travel with our dogs Dexter and Rocky, none of us knowing what awaited us in a corner of the third floor near the sofas and home furnishings section.

Eccentric doesn’t really cover it. The grotto is a festive feature of a number of John Lewis’s stores, and this one opened for business when a platoon of elves marched towards us chirping something Christmassy.

This chorus of cheerfulness would have charmed any children waiting to see the Big Man. And most of the time, the singsong is aimed at the little people with big hopes for what might appear in their stockings on 25 December.

But it turns out that parents and children aren’t the only ones who want to have a face to face with Santa. Why should pets be deprived of this special experience, asked (some) dog owners?

Why indeed. John Lewis started the Santa Paws Experience last year, and it is back by popular demand in nine of its shops. More than 500 tickets have been sold so far – up by a fifth from 2022.…..

https://www.theguardian.com/busines...s-christmas-pet-grotto?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other