Perth’s FurBaby sees rise in Santa Paws photos as families add pets to festive portraits

As Perth prepares for a new season of glitter and silliness, families across the city are ironing their matching shirts and rehearsing their brightest smiles ahead of their annual photo with Santa.

While people at home prepare to step into the spotlight, many pets remain out of the seasonal limelight.

Despite showering their owners with love 365 days a year, family pets still find themselves on the sidelines when festive photos are taken.

But a growing number of Perth families are making sure their pets don’t get left out by turning to FurBaby dog ​​grooming, grooming and pampering service in Westminster to complete their Christmas portraits.

The centre’s increasingly popular Santa Paws sessions give families the chance to involve every member, from dogs and cats to the occasional pony or bird, and demand has soared as pets cement their place at the heart of modern homes.

FurBaby owner Shari Lovreta Fiorentino said this shift reflects how deeply pets are woven into daily family life.

“Pets now live with us not only outside but also inside, they sleep on couches, they sleep in beds, they go to kids’ sporting events. It doesn’t feel right to take a family photo without them anymore,” she said.

“We take pictures of families with their cats, dogs, ponies, everything, we even have an eagle this year.”

Longtime patrons of Santa Paws include the Puccio family, who have posed with their husky Wolfie every Christmas since 2015.

“This has become our Christmas tradition. It wouldn’t feel like Christmas if we didn’t have our yearbook photo here,” Shen Puccio said.

“For us, Christmas photos wouldn’t be complete without Wolfie; he’s been a part of our family for so long that it would be weird to have a family photo without him in it.

“A regular mall Santa photo is fun too, but including Wolfie makes the photos feel real and authentic to who we are as a family.”

Their first portraits were taken just a week before Ms. Puccio’s youngest child, Marley, was born.

“Our first Santa Paws photo was taken when I was heavily pregnant with our youngest, about a week before he was born,” she said.

“Looking back at that photo now, it’s incredibly special to know that next year’s photo features him as a baby in my arms, growing bigger and bigger with each passing year, along with Wolfie.

“Wolfie is getting a lot older now, he’s 11 and a half… I love being able to look at the photos over the years and see him growing up with the kids.

“We’ve gone from a time when he was a very lively pup, jumping on Santa’s chair, to now having to carefully lift him so he can sit next to Santa because he’s too old to stand up.”

This year’s sessions feature a newly designed Christmas set that replaces traditional reds and greens with a vibrant, colorful backdrop.

“This year we just stepped out of the traditional for something fun and different,” Ms. Fiorentino said.

“Everything is pink and purples and blues and really bright, just to try to capture the funfest of it all.

“It’s not very traditional to come to us, so we wanted the backdrop to match that.”