Pets recite 'Twas the Night Before Christmas

The poem is 'Twas the Night Before Christmas, and nobody reads it alone. Each pet gets a few lines. Their mouths move in time with human voices, so a dog, a bird or a guinea pig seems to be saying the words out loud.

The cast is big. There are two Chihuahuas, one of them in the Santa outfit. A small fluffy dog sits up tall and a budgie gets a close-up, while the guinea pigs come dressed for the holidays. Christmas music plays under it all.

Several people single out the guinea pigs, and one popular comment just wants to know how the animals learned all those words. A couple say their own pets made the cast, and they sound as proud as any parent at a school play. The Pets Add Life crew put a lot of work into it, and people notice.

Not everyone in the cast is calm about it. 'Oh boy, my part's coming up,' one of them frets before the first line. Later the reading stalls at 'a right jolly old elf.' One reader can't get past the physics of tiny reindeer pulling a full-sized Santa, then gives up with 'I know it's just a poem.'

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When Santa turns with a jerk, one cast member acts it out and ends up 'very dizzy.' Then the sleigh is gone with 'Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good night,' and it's straight to bed. Someone checks that everyone has their 'pig jammas' on, with a reminder of what happens to anyone still up when Santa comes.