It is the season of merriment and goodwill when the sound of jingling bells heralds the arrival of the most wonderful time of the year.
While all the warm homes full of children eagerly await Santa and his gifts under the Christmas tree, those who need the joy of Christmas patiently wait for their happy moment.
Without a warm home and loved ones, shelter cats and dogs are crying out for a little love and attention that only Santa can bring them during these holiday times.
One Santa Claus, a veterinarian by profession, heard their cries and decided to visit a shelter in Jacksboro, Tennessee.
It is difficult to describe in words the happiness on the faces of these forgotten animals when they saw him.
It Meant The World To Them
The name of this big-hearted veterinarian is Carson Hutchison.
The 73-year-old doctor decided to surprise the animal residents at Friends of Campbell County, Tennessee Animals, a shelter located in Jacksboro, after a busy day of performing more than 40 spay and neuter surgeries.
This old man has served as a veterinarian at the shelter for the past eight years and, best of all, understands what a little attention and love mean to these furry fellows.
After all, this has been confirmed by science itself, and the best evidence is a 2018 study published in the journal, Applied Animal Behavior Science. It acknowledged that just 15 minutes of one-on-one petting is enough to boost the well-being of a shelter dog.
Considering that, it isn’t a surprise that the animals at this shelter were over the moon when they found themselves in the arms of this veterinarian.
Maybe they wouldn’t have reacted like that if they knew he was a veterinarian, but this experienced doctor thought of everything by dressing up as the most beloved person of this time of year.
In the pictures published by the shelter on their Facebook profile, it is impossible not to notice the immense happiness that this meeting brought to Santa’s furry companions.
The shelter made an effort to bring special joy to its tenants this Christmas, but they don’t intend to stop there.
Yet Another Merrier Christmas At This Shelter
At this time of the year, shelters across the U.S. are overwhelmed with homeless animals. It should be the happiest time, but it only brings a bitter taste to them every time they remember that they are not among their loved ones.
“Right now, across the country, shelters are continuing to be overcrowded. Shelters can be a frightening place for animals and it’s gestures like Dr. Carson Hutchison’s that make all the difference for deserving cats and dogs as they wait for loving homes.” a shelter spokesperson said in his interview for Newsweek.
It is exactly for this reason that the people from this shelter try to make the situation in their facility as good as possible every Christmas.
That is why, among other things, they decided to cooperate with Best Friends Animal Society, which helps them become a non-euthanasia shelter.
For now, they are doing very well because they have an 82% save rate, while 10 years ago, they were only at 3%. For the shelter to acquire non-euthanasia status, it must be at least 90%, meaning that they are very close to their goal.
We hope that this achievement will be the gift these animals receive from Santa next Christmas. This is the least they deserve.