Saturday was the first day of this year's Santa Paws at Petbarn, allowing families to get a photo with their pet while raising money for the RSPCA.

Santa was available at the weekend to be photographed with dogs, turtles and everything in between and will be returning again this Saturday and Sunday.

Photographer Helen Akerstrom said while dogs were the most popular animal, the first photo of the day went to a pet pig called Dorothy.

It's the third year Petbarn has held the event and it's getting more popular every year.

"Pets have become a big part of the family," Petbarn store manager Melanie Currey said.

"People have said 'this is going to be our family photo'," Ms Akerstrom added.

The majority of people visiting Santa are returners from last year and many bringing Santa hats for their pets, or dressing as elves for the photo.

"They're dressing up and getting in the spirit. It's fantastic," Ms Akerstrom said.

There was a line for photos when the store first opened on Saturday but Ms Akerstrom said the key to getting a good photo was patience and allowing the pets like Lollipop to warm up to Santa.

Petbarn is also selling ornaments to place on their giving tree to raise additional funds for the RSPCA.

Along with the fundraising, Ms Currey said an added benefit of Santa Paws was the attention it draws to the animals available for adoption.

Petbarn has cats and dogs in need of re-homing and pet owners can see the animals while they're in the store for the photo.