Look here! Who’s a good boy?”
Animal lover Diane Whipkey is nearly 80, but that doesn’t stop her from jumping up and down to get a pet’s attention. A Christmas keepsake is at stake.
Pet Pictures with Santa, the Vanderburgh Humane Society’s longtime holiday fundraiser, turns 40 this year, and Whipkey has been there since the beginning. Her mother, Helen Ortmeyer, and friend Helen Jaspar read about a similar event in another state, secured a photographer, and recruited area veterinarians and friends to play Santa. Staged at Schmitt Photo in 1986, the first Pet Pictures with Santa was the first of its kind here.
Washington Square Mall’s food court has hosted the photo shoots for 20 of those years, with multi-year stops at Eastland Mall and VHS’s facility on Millner Industrial Drive. Attendance and price have fluctuated over the years, but Santa has stayed busy: Whipkey reports that in 1997, a record 725 pets showed up.
Photos aren’t just for (often costumed) dogs and cats. Santa has been snapped with rabbits, guinea pigs, rats, goats, snakes, skunks, bearded dragons, and even a miniature horse. Owners can join; some even use the photo as their holiday greeting card. “Many families will come dressed for the occasion in Christmas clothes, like their pets,” Whipkey says. “It is really fun to see what they come up with.”
The shoot is sweet for VHS staff, too. “We have many pets who came to see Santa as a puppy, and then here they are 15, 16, 17 years later as a gray-faced senior dog,” says VHS Director of Advancement Amanda Coburn.
Whipkey estimates that Pet Pictures has raised $273,000 for VHS over the last 39 years. Previously the coordinator for volunteers and special events, Whipkey now manages the Happy Tails Resale Shop while carrying on the holiday tradition her mother started. “It is heartwarming to see the legacy of supporting the VHS that Helen began all those years ago continue through her daughter,” says VHS CEO Kendall Paul. “While the event location and methods have changed, the constant is the passion and dedication that Helen and Diane have brought to supporting the animals and creating magical Christmas memories for our community.”
Pet Pictures with Santa
10 a.m.-5 p.m. Nov. 7 2026; 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Nov. 8, 2026
Washington Square Mall food court, 5001 Washington Ave.
Cost: $30 for digital images; $35 for digital images and 4×6 prints
