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FORTY FORT — As 12-year-old Jordyn Dutko weaved through a path of winter wreaths at Edward’s Garden Center Sunday afternoon, she made certain to keep a firm grasp on the plastic green bin in her hands.
Inside the bin was Twix, one of the family’s two gueina pigs, which they brought with them for a family photo with Santa.
The garden and landscaping center held its fourth annual Christmas celebration this weekend, entertaining customers with an array of activities and displays, including pictures with Santa and Mrs. Claus.
When it was time for the photo, Dutko, of Shavertown, had two headpieces ready for Twix and S’mores — a pair of antlers and a Santa hat.
Guests at the center were encouraged to bring their furry friends on Sunday to be included in the photos, while Saturday offered reindeer on-site for viewing. Animals of all types could be seen throughout the premises, many clad in winter coats and holiday bandanas.
Shortly before the Dutkos snapped their photos, Exeter resident Ryan Walsh was busy trying to gain the attention of his 6-month-old Yorkie, Chase.
Walsh decided to bring the new family pet to the center so he could get a picture of the dog with his son, Colby.
“We’ve come to Edward’s for a lot of things in the summertime,” he said. “I thought it’d be a good idea to get my son and his dog together.”
With Colby sitting next to Santa, Walsh called the dog’s name in the hopes he’d turn his head for the perfect shot.
Garden Center owner Edward Kopec said he enjoys seeing the abundance of animals with their families on the property, noting the nearly 30 animals he cares for at the center year-round.
“We’re a real family-oriented garden center,” he said. “We’re a pet-friendly place and this is just an extension of that.”
Housing animals from rabbits to birds, iguanas to ferrets, and even a tortoise, Kopec admits he has always been an animal lover, and he wants others to love animals as well.
Inside one of the canopies, volunteers from the Blue Chip Farm Animal Refuge spoke with guests as they passed through. The no-kill, nonprofit shelter has been working with Kopec and the garden center for the past three years, bringing adoptable animals to various events the center holds throughout the year.
As Blue Chip volunteers Janice Preston and Sally Maniskas sold pet supplies and more, Buddy, one of the shelter’s adoptable dogs, looked up at them from the ground.
Buddy’s brother was recently adopted out, and now the shelter is hoping they can find the Jack Russell a forever home, as well.
“He 11, but he thinks he’s three,” said Preston as she held Buddy in her arms. “He’s good with kids, good with adults and good with other dogs.”
Preston said they originally planned to bring two dogs to the event. However, on the way down from the farm, Maniskas got a call that the second dog had been adopted. Although the duo was thrilled to hear the news, they still wanted to bring Buddy in hope that someone at the event would want to adopt him also.
“Edward’s is so kind to us,” Preston said. “They help us out a great deal, we have a really good success rate here.”
She said that Blue Chip generally holds about 30 dogs and 200 cats at any given time.
Throughout the day, Buddy happily mingled with other animals, running around and playing as he met various dogs. One of the dogs he was most fond of was Kirby, a Shetland sheepdog.
Kirby’s owner, Kingston resident Liza Roper, brought Kirby so the now-retired therapy dogcould once again socialize with people and other animals.
“He likes people. We don’t do therapy visits anymore, so I wanted to bring him to see people,” she said as he played with Buddy.
Besides taking photos with Santa, another spot guests flocked to was a statue of a giant Yetti.
Dressed in a sparkling tutu and Santa hat with candy canes placed at his hands, Kopek said the Yetti is one of the center’s main attractions.
Explaining that he first saw the statue at a garden show in Chicago, Kopec noticed that attendees flocked to it and realized he wanted to bring it back to the center.
“I knew I had to have him,” he said as he looked over at the towering piece.
