'Local celebrity' cat joins other pets in meeting 'Santa Paws'

This was an event for ‘Santa Paws’ rather than Santa Claus as local dog owners, and one intrepid cat, brought their pooches to see Santa at the Drovers Rest in Monkhill, near Carlisle.

Almost 30 dogs came through the doors with the money also being raised for Guide Dogs UK and Oak Tree Animal charity.

“Honestly, I've never seen so many dogs – it was manic,” said attendee Lucy Stephenson.

“Some of them were just really friendly and some of them were just so excited and you couldn't move for wagging tails and stuff like that.”

One of the first pets through the doors was Jenny the blind cat who is a local celebrity in her own right.

Jenny is already a regular at the Drovers Rest with her owners and is well known in the community for her walks around the local area.

Jenny looking round the Drovers Rest, Monkhill (Image: Supplied)According to her owners, being blind certainly doesn't stop Jenny from doing things that other cats do such as hunting birds, chasing insects and climbing trees and even things that most regular cats don’t do such as exploring the woods and going for walks.

“Jenny was very brave, and they deliberately kept the first slot for us so we could get in before it was too busy,” said Lucy.

“She had a bit of a wander around before the dogs turned up but as it got a bit busier, she just hopped in her backpack and curled up.

Jenny enjoys being a 'local celebrity' (Image: Supplied)“Jenny is still absolutely loving life as a local celebrity.

“It's been a while since we've been up to the pub and so it took a little while to get used to the noise and the people, but once she'd kind of settled in and built her confidence she was great.

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“She did actually sit on Santa's lap, so that was quite something I didn't think she would, so she was definitely quite keen.”

The full amount raised by the event is to be totalled up in the coming days.