-Messenger file photo
Mackenzie Scacci, then 11, left, holds her dwarf hamster, Lulu, while her friend Aubry Salgren, 11, volunteers to hold her teddy hamster, Lester, for a photo with Santa at Buckroyd Studio during the Humane Society of North Central Iowa Santa Paws fundraiser. Curt Olson, of Fort Dodge, helps out as a stand-in for Santa, who is quite busy this time of the year at the North Pole.