When the time came to take her place, Maxine put the brakes on.
But even the stiff front legs technique was useless, and Maxine learned the same lesson as those who came before her: When both your owners and a man with a white beard and a red suit are pulling you off the ground, you might as well go with it.
So she took her place on the lap of the bearded guy. And, after getting her bearings, looked up to see her owners hopping and calling her name from behind a man pointing a camera at her.
Ho ho ho.
Maxine was just one of more than 300 dogs, cats, and one guinea pig who wound up at a storefront in downtown Hinsdale for a photograph with Santa.
For a $10 donation to the Hinsdale Humane Society, pet owners got a Christmas card that only their pets could give. They also got the choice of strapping felt antlers or a red Santa hat on the head of their pets to give the cards a real holiday feel.
And the pets? They got either a dog biscuit or a can of gourmet cat food. It is not clear what would be given the hedgehog and two parrots.
The humane society took in close to $2,000 Saturday alone and were expecting about the same amount Sunday.