The Santa Who Ruined an Autistic Girl's Christmas

‘Twas a few weeks before Christmas, when all through the Internet, there arose such a clatter, every creature was wondering: Is this mall Santa just a big ol’ jerk? Or is there more to this matter?

A moment between a mall Santa Claus, an autistic child and her pit-bull therapy dog at The Shops of Mission Viejo on Nov. 30 has a lot of people commenting, all lively and quick.

Is Kris Kringle afraid of dogs or is he really allergic? Is Santa a meanie beneath the belly that shakes like a bowl full of jelly? Did he ruin a little girl’s Christmas? And should he be fired over the whole kerfuffle?

Our story begins with 7-year-old Abcde Santos, an autistic girl, and her service dog Pup-Cake. Abcde (pronounced Ab-Suh-Dee), the daughter of California marketing expert Ed Santos of Tustin, has had Pup-Cake for almost five years. She and her mom waited in the mall Santa line with the dog for 30 minutes until an elf approached and said their dog would not be allowed to see Santa, according to Julie Miller, a public relations consultant, Santos family friend and spokeswoman.

The family claims Santa was afraid of the pit bull — he allegedly said “those dogs eat people” — and only after hearing Pup-Cake was a trained service animal did he claim an allergy to dogs.

“After the Santos family offered to remove the dog from the area, the building, Santa still refused to see the child,” Miller wrote on Facebook, “sending her away heartbroken leaving a family to comfort a child instead of celebrating her accomplishments.”

Abcde Santos looks sad after the mall incident.

After the Santos family complained to Simon Property Group, which owns the Mission Viejo mall, the mall Santa and his elf were sent packing to another mall.

“We share in your concerns regarding the situation today involving a Santa at The Shops at Mission Viejo. We do not condone the behavior displayed by Santa and have worked with our partners at Noerr, the company that hires our Santas, to replace this Santa with one that is more compassionate to our guests’ needs,” The Shops at Mission Viejo said on its Facebook page that very same night. “We look forward to welcoming back the Santos family and Pup-Cake for a special Santa experience.”

The family hasn’t granted any interviews, preferring instead to speak through Julie Miller, who immediately launched a social media publicity blitz to draw attention to the Grinch of a Santa with a heart blacker than a coal-stuffed stocking. On Twitter, Facebook and Instagram, everyone was urged to #savePupcakesChristmas.

When Abcde was diagnosed as autistic, Miller was the one who recommended a pit bull as a service dog. She says Pup-Cake is “her only canine client,” a labor of love for her on the family’s behalf.

By all accounts, Pup-Cake is a cupcake, and as a service dog she prevents Abcde from harming herself.

Pup-Cake has his own Facebook page with 26,000-plus fans.

Predictably, the last few days have seen a huge swell of support for Pup-Cake and Abcde, and calls for mall Santa’s head on a platter.

Jennifer Ann H, wrote on the mall’s Facebook page: “You share our concerns? You should be DISGUSTED by this! As we are. The only reason you’re saying anything now is because you know this is going to hurt you in the wallet but hey you guys deserve it for what your Santa did to this very sweet young autistic girl just because her service dog happened to be a pitbull. Shame on you!”

The mall episode is now the second time Abcde and Pup-Cake have been denied admittance somewhere. In August 2013, the little girl and her dog were asked to leave a shop at Tom’s Farms in Temescal Valley, a tourist destination with shops, restaurants and family entertainment. Abcde’s mother, in a story posted on Patch, said a Tom’s Farms manager yelled at her and demanded they leave, even after the mother explained Pup-Cake was a trained service dog that was wearing its service-dog vest.

After Julie Miller went public on behalf of Pup-Cake and the family, Tom’s Farms changed its policies, much like what happened at The Shops at Mission Viejo.

Each time, Miller and the Santoses said they wanted to raise awareness of prejudice against pit bulls as service dogs and how people with disabilities are treated.

But Santa has his defenders, and they are crying havoc and letting loose on the mall’s Facebook page.

James Riggio Sr.: “The Santa has a right to feel and be safe in his job setting and the parents should have called ahead and asked before just showing up with an animal. Why do people always feel so entitled to anything they want regardless of how it affects others? ... You are going to replace this Santa with another one and I hope he sues the hell out of you!”

Mary Faithful Ann: “Wow. I think its wrong they got fired. Its not like they didn’t want to take a pic out of spite or hate. My daughter owns a service pit bull and I always tell her to respect that people have had bad experiences with dogs. If they were bit by one, they would always give out a scent of fear the best dog can pick up on. Too bad they cost them their jobs. ... Good lord, get over yourselves parents.”

Jim Hagen: “Dude, I am also disabled and I sympathize with the child... However, I don’t like how the family has handled this and other matters. Because of their celebrity connections their version of events tends to become the blueprint that most people reference. For people to say that someone should not work with the public because of allergies is unfair as you pointed out. What bothers me is how quickly people delight in someone losing their job.”

Nicholas Look: “What a terrible decision to fire this Santa. There are two sides to every story, and I get the sense that his is being ignored.”

Some believe Abcde’s parents are publicity hounds exploiting their daughter to draw attention to themselves, not misunderstood pit bull service dogs.

And a woman has even come forward claiming to be Miranda, Santa’s helper elf, posting comments on various news articles asserting that the Santoses, not Santa, were the ones who got bent out of shape and made a scene at the mall. She posts in exacting detail, saying she spoke in a “calm, sweet voice” and that the mother “got irate,” called Santa a ’pansy” and made her own daughter cry — although Miller and the mall say this Miranda is an impostor.

Did the mall do the right thing? Did Santa? And what about the Santoses?

The mall Santa has been replaced, and the family is satisfied with how mall management responded. The Noerr Company, providers of Santas, also apologized and said a special Santa visit would be set up for Abcde.

And now, the matter is settled, save for the ongoing clatter of vastly differing opinions over who was right and who was wronged. Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good fight!

Abcde Santos, 7, and Pup-Cake.

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