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Photos via jjmontaldo/Twitter

Dog meets the real-life version of her favorite Santa chew toy

Santa paws is comin' to town.

 

Samantha Grasso

Internet Culture

Posted on Nov 24, 2016   Updated on May 25, 2021, 12:47 pm CDT

Every dog has its day… to meet its favorite stuffed animal IRL, that is.

For this dog, a 1-year-old Shiba Inu named Kya, her wildest dreams came true when she met the life-sized version of her fav chew toy, Santa Claus.

Kya’s owner, 16-year-old John Montaldo from Orlando, Florida, shared the photos of Kya’s shining moment on Twitter, to the delight of tens of thousands.

https://twitter.com/tannerhumann/status/801485340674555912

https://twitter.com/substitutin27/status/801799241316368384

Montaldo and his sister Angelina told Buzzfeed the Santa toy quickly became Kya’s favorite after their family gifted it to her last year. When the pair saw an advertisement for Santa-and-pet photos at the mall, they gladly dropped the $30 for the opportunity. 

Angelina said Kya, a usually “super crazy and hyper” pup, calmed down upon meeting the jolly man.

“She just sat there and looked at him,” Angelina told Buzzfeed. “She usually misbehaves when we take her to Petsmart, but she was behaving for Santa.”

Any dog would probably be overwhelmed meeting a human-sized version of their favorite plaything. At least Kya is in good company.

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*First Published: Nov 24, 2016, 1:15 pm CST