First Posted: 3/31/2014

On a rainy Sunday afternoon pet owners from Lackawanna County brought their pets to Toyota of Scranton to get their picture taken with the Easter Bunny on March 30.

It was the second year in a row Toyota of Scranton held the fundraiser, in which the proceeds from the photos go to the Griffin Pond Animal Shelter in Clarks Summit. The cost was $5 per photo.

“People enjoy it,” said Marisa Ford, volunteer of the animal shelter. “It’s a great thing Toyota lets us do.”

The Easter Bunny posed with petson a bench on the side of a fireplace. Some of the owners dressed their female dogs in dresses, while others placed plush bunny ears on their dog’s head. Pet owners had the option of getting their photo taken with their pet or just having their pet get its photo taken with the bunny.

“I love it. I come every year,” said Scranton resident Linda Dougher, who had her photo taken with her lap dogs, Missy (Chihuahua/Pomeranian mix) and Butch (Chihuahua).

Mary Kettle, volunteer of the Griffin Pond Animal Shelter, organized the event. Other volunteers of the animal shelter such as Arlene Albert, who does the fundraising and office work, and Ford were present to help the event run smoothly. Volunteers held dog biscuits up to have the pet look at the camera. Some volunteers sold raffle tickets.

“It’s good to see the people get excited about their pets getting their photo taken,” Kettle said.

“I think it’s great because all the dogs can get together, and it benefits the shelter,” said Scranton resident Jaron Fissler, who owns a pitbull named Millie.

Toyota of Scranton is a partner with the Griffin Pond Animal Shelter. The car dealership also does pet photos with Santa to raise money for the shelter.

“We like to give back to the community that gives to us,” said Mary Jo Preno Yanusauskas, customer experience manager of Toyota of Scranton. “This is a successful event for Griffin Pond, and that’s what we like to see. We are pet-friendly at Toyota of Scranton.”