oddly enough

oddly enough

Paws by Claus: Santa delivers for animal shelter

MADISON, N.J.

Santa Claus went to work on Christmas Day for an animal shelter.

Santa delivered dogs and cats as presents for the St. Hubert’s Animal Welfare Center in Madison, NJ.com reported.

Shelter staffer Melissa Morgan donned the costume to deliver pets adopted this week by parents to doubly surprised children in the area. She took a box to the door of the Crescenzi family in Union, and 4-year-old Angelo ripped the wrapping paper off to reveal a black kitten inside.

“The only thing you have to do is love him forever,” Morgan told him. “Can you do that?”

“Yeah!” yelled Angelo’s 2-year-old brother, Giovanni.

The animal shelter said it permits adoptions only after one-on-one counseling with families to make sure they understand the responsibilities and can offer safe environments.

“This is a time of great warmth and family bonding,” shelter CEO Heather Camissa said. “Why not add this extra bit of special?”

Farmers say Christmas trees make great goat snacks

GRAND JUNCTION, Colo.

Western Colorado goat farmers say Christmas trees make great snacks for their herds, and they’re offering to collect them from homes in the Grand Valley.

Nevelle Hopper of the Lil Moo Ranch said Friday the trees are a natural de-wormer for goats, and pine needles have vitamin C.

She says the goats enjoy eating them, too.

Hopper’s Lil Moo Ranch, the Top of the Hill Ranch and 5-R Ranch want undecorated trees that haven’t been sprayed with any chemical.

Hopper says the ranches will arrange to pick up trees or accept drop-offs.

To ring in New Year, town drops a giant nail

WEST FAIRVIEW, Pa.

A Pennsylvania town planned to nail their New Year’s Eve and bicentennial celebrations by dropping some major hardware to mark the occasion.

The Sentinel reports West Fairview planned to drop a 7-foot-tall nail as the clock ticked down Wednesday night. Local artists constructed the nail out of wood.

The 50-pound symbol pays homage to the defunct Harrisburg Nail Works, a local mill that once employed many residents. West Fairview is across the Susquehanna River from the state capital.

Organizers say the event also commemorates the town’s 200th anniversary in 2015.

The inaugural nail drop joins a host of creative New Year’s Eve traditions in neighboring towns, such as the dropping of a giant wrench in Mechanicsburg and a huge pickle in Dillsburg.

Associated Press