A moment of Christmas joy turned to disappointment for a 7-year-old autistic girl, whose parents say Santa turned her away because of her pit bull service dog.
According to the Orange County Register, Abcde Santos and Pup-Cake stood in line for half an hour to see Santa. But when she was ready to meet the man in red, she was turned away because Santa was apparently afraid of the dog.
A Santos family friend, Julie Miller, told KABC Pup-Cake is a trained service dog and should not be judged because of the breed. The family said they'd removed Pup-Cake so Abcde could meet Santa on her own to find out what he wanted for Christmas. But he refused. The Orange County Register reported he claimed he was allergic.
The Shops at Mission Viejo responded to the family, KABC reports saying that the company who hires Santas for the mall would replace him with one who is more compassionate and that they would welcome back Abcde and Pup-Cake for a "special Santa experience."
KTVU reported the Santa and elf were fired.
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