Pets and families lined up to have their pictures taken for the holidays from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday at the Pix for Pets event at the Veterinary Medicine Basic Sciences Building, 2001 S. Lincoln Ave.

At Pix for Pets, Tom Schaefges, a renowned companion animal photographer, took photographs of pets with their families, with Santa or with both for a sitting fee of $50. Money raised at the event will go to the Humane Connection Fund and the CARE Pet Loss Helpline, which is run out of the University’s Veterinary Teaching Hospital.

College of Veterinary Medicine Director of Communications Christine Beuoy, coordinator of the event, said this is the second time the College of Veterinary Medicine has hosted Pix for Pets.

Last year, the event raised just over $2,000, Beuoy said. And this year, Beuoy expects to raise more, as all the time slots for pictures were reserved in advance, unlike last year.

“We’ve got a better turnout coming this year,” Beuoy said.

Thirty-five advance reservations were filled, Beuoy said. Each slot is 15 minutes apart, and the photographer works with six or seven families every hour, she said. In addition, some people come as walk-ins.

The basic sitting fee is $50, Buoy said. Families have a choice of two basic picture packages, and they can buy additional sheets for $15 each. Plus, they can buy a CD of prints for $25, she said.

All prints will be ready before Thanksgiving so people can use them for their Christmas cards, Beuoy said.

Champaign residents David and Diane Lesney and their 13-year-old golden retriever named Sukie were the first to come to the event Saturday. The Lesney’s had Sukie’s picture taken for the holidays.

“We’ve been doing this since we got her,” David Lesney said.

He said in the past, they have had her portrait taken by herself, with their family, with Santa or with both their family and Santa. Then they give the pictures out to their family.

To get Sukie to smile, they used squeaky toys and made dog and cat noises, the Lesneys said.

“We really enjoy bringing (Sukie) in,” he said. The photographer has a lot of patience, David Lesney said. And it’s going to a great cause, Diane Lesney said.

Beuoy said Schaefges and his partner, Harriett Weatherford, started the Humane Connection Fund, and taking pictures for Pix for Pets is a great way for them to give back to that.

Others who are giving back to a humane society are Kevin and Barb Kopelman, of Champaign. They brought in their two dogs, Lily and Dozer, both almost six-years-old.

Lily, a lab mix, had heartworm and was treated by a humane connection, Barb Kopelman said. After Lily was treated, she was brought back to the person who rescued her from a bad living situation, and the Kopelmans bought her from a garage sale in 2002.

Barb Kopelman said they had never dreamed of getting another dog, but when Lily met Dozer, a shelter dog, at the Petco in Decatur, Ill., they bonded.

She said they always go to shelters to get their dogs because so many of them do not have homes. Kevin Kopelman said he thinks more people should adopt older dogs.

“They’ve been the love of our lives,” Barb Kopelman said.

Money raised through Pix for Pets will not only help pets, but will also help owners when they lose their pets.

Erica Jewell, student director of the CARE Pet Loss Helpline, said the helpline took about 465 calls last year, and the helpline gives out free grief packets to clients and callers. The grief packets contain articles about dealing with pet death, ideas for memorializing pets and a book listing on books to read for pet loss grief, she said.

“(Pix for Pets) enables us to continue that service,” Jewell said. Along with providing money for the grief packets, the proceeds will go toward the phone bill of the helpline’s toll free line, she said.

Urbana resident Cindy Dorner brought her two dogs, Prince, 5, and Gromit, 6, to the event. Prince, a Scherier and rescue from a humane society and Gromit, a Portuguese Waterdog had their picture taken together, in front of a Christmas tree.

And Dorner did some preparation work for their pictures.

“I gave them both a bath yesterday, and I trimmed Prince’s face,” Dorner said. They also wore matching collars.

The pictures will go out to all of the family, Dorner said. She loves to have their pictures professionally taken. It’s “hit-or-miss” at home with the camera she said. Plus, Schaefges is the only one who can get a good picture of Gromit because he’s so dark, she said.

“I’m glad we did it,” Dorner said. “We got really good pictures, and the money goes to a good cause.”