Photo: Photo-SD (Shutterstock)
Listen, I don’t have pets. My three kids under age 9 keep begging for a dog, to which I say, “Are you going to pick up its poo at 5:30 in the morning when it’s freezing outside?” To which they reply, “Yes! We will!” Which we all know is a heinous, heinous lie. So, because I need another care task like I need a fourth kid (which is to say, not even a little bit), we wait. But if I did have a pup, I could see the appeal in getting its picture taken with Santa.
PetSmart is offering free pet pictures with Santa
If you want to snap a framable holiday pic of your non-human family member, PetSmart is offering free photos with St. Nick this weekend, Dec. 18-19, between 12 p.m. and 3 p.m. (local time). Use this PetSmart store location finder to book your appointment online—and you may want to download the app, which allows you to use fun photo filters when taking the picture on your own device.
According to their website, “Photos can be taken on personal device or on store device which will then be delivered via email.” So, bring your picture-taking A game, because it sounds like no actual photographer will be present.
Which pets can come?
If you’re wondering if your non-venomous reptile or pot-bellied pig is allowed in store, good news: They are! They are considered “traditional” pets and are welcome on Santa’s knee. See the chain’s pet policy here.
But is it ‘Pet Smart’ or ‘Pet’s Mart’?
Admit it; it’s confusing. As this hilarious, binge-watchable TikTok asks, “Are you saying that pets are smart? Or are you saying you’re a mart for pets?”
Though some say the answer is obvious—that the bouncing ball in its logo serves as an apostrophe, indicating it is clearly a mart for pets—why then does the company capitalizes the S, (introducing a new, separate word) in the un-stylized version of their name? After being called out to the tune of 2.2 million views and counting, PetSmart/Pet’s Mart had some serious explaining to do, and explain they did.
