By MADELINE REIDA

Staff writer

No hippopotamuses were requested for Christmas this year in our annual letters to Santa, but parents of children across Marion County may have other live presents to worry about.

• 20 puppies and dogs were requested. One boy from Hillsboro specifically asked for a bulldog; another boy in Hillsboro asked for a dachshund (also known as a “wiener dog”); and one girl from Peabody wanted a rescued white Pomeranian and would let Santa decorate its fur before Christmas morning.
• Eight kittens or cats were requested, usually as an alternative to a puppy. One boy from Marion asked specifically for an orange kitten.
• Three horses were requested — one from Peabody and two from Marion.
• Two cows are the hopes of two children in Marion.
• Two hamsters were requested, both from Goessel. One of them is to be named Bob.

Unusual animals included:

• A guinea pig in Marion.
• A gecko or other type of lizard in Goessel.
• A turtle in Goessel.
• A baby chick for a little sister in Goessel.
• A pair of dwarf goats, which will be named Joey and Nerd Man, in Peabody.
• A shark in Marion.
• An arctic fox in Marion.
• An axolotl (an aquatic salamander endemic to Mexico) in Marion.

Other requests included a unicorn in Marion and a Charizard (from the Pokémon series) in Goessel.

One girl in Marion also asked for a dog training book for Christmas.

She might be the one to wrangle Santa’s slew of pets this year.