One came dressed in flannel pajamas. Another wore an antler hoodie, maintaining a holiday vibe. And several sported Santa hats as their cars slowly snaked through a Tustin parking lot.

When they finally reached the front of the line, many leaned out of their windows to kiss the volunteers.

It was the second Saturday of the month and OC Animal Care was in top gear helping feed hungry pets. And the hungry came in all forms: cats, dogs, guinea pigs and fluffy rabbits to farm animals, birds and rats.

The Family Fur-st Drive-thru Pet Food Pantry was started in 2020 in response to the pandemic as families struggled financially, Monica Schmidt, the assistant director of the county shelter, said.

“We didn’t want people turning in their pets because they couldn’t afford them. We didn’t want them to have to make a choice between feeding their children instead of their pets,” she said.

Lucky, left, and Bear get some treats from volunteers at the OC Animal Care drive-through food pantry in Tustin on Saturday, December 11, 2021. Elizabeth Tran, left, said Lucky was also adopted from the shelter. (Photo by Mindy Schauer, Orange County Register/SCNG)

Angel waits his turn during OC Animal Care’s drive-through food pantry in Tustin on Saturday, December 11, 2021. Lluvia Castillo, who adopted the cat from the shelter, said the pantry is “very, very helpful,” especially when they provide cat litter. (Photo by Mindy Schauer, Orange County Register/SCNG)

Cars wrap around OC Animal Care in Tustin on Saturday, December 11, 2021. Volunteers distribute pet food, pet toys and sometime crates and cat litter the second Saturday of each month to help ease the financial burden for struggling owners. (Photo by Mindy Schauer, Orange County Register/SCNG)

Floppy, a rescue dog with a pipe-like tongue, arrives at the OC Animal Care drive-through pet pantry with owner Delores Segura in Tustin on Saturday, December 11, 2021. (Photo by Mindy Schauer, Orange County Register/SCNG)

Delores Segura, her son Eric, and her dog Floppy, arrive at the OC Animal Care drive-through pet pantry in Tustin on Saturday, December 11, 2021. “This means so much to not only the animal but to the people,” she said of the program.(Photo by Mindy Schauer, Orange County Register/SCNG)

OC Animal Care volunteers work the drive-through food pantry for pets as the morning sun casts shadows on the building in Tustin on Saturday, December 11, 2021. (Photo by Mindy Schauer, Orange County Register/SCNG)

OC Animal Care volunteer Elaine Perry gets a smooch from a recipient at OC Animal Care’s drive-through pet pantry in Tustin on Saturday, December 11, 2021. (Photo by Mindy Schauer, Orange County Register/SCNG)

OC Animal Care volunteer Elaine Perry shows a picture of Oscar Cupcake, a rat her daughter saved from becoming snake food. She was volunteering at the shelter’s pet food pantry in Tustin on Saturday, December 11, 2021. (Photo by Mindy Schauer, Orange County Register/SCNG)

Volunteer Elaine Perry reacts to a furry patron during OC Animal Care’s drive through pet food pantry on Saturday, December 11, 2021. Jack Grazer is at left. (Photo by Mindy Schauer, Orange County Register/SCNG)

OC Animal Care volunteer Laurie Yearly organizes food during the drive-through pet pantry in Tustin on Saturday, December 11, 2021. (Photo by Mindy Schauer, Orange County Register/SCNG)

Food for the OC Animal Care pet pantry is categorized during Saturday’s drive-through event in Tustin on Saturday, December 11, 2021. (Photo by Mindy Schauer, Orange County Register/SCNG)

Food for a variety of animals is given out during OC Animal Care’s food pantry in Tustin on Saturday, December 11, 2021. (Photo by Mindy Schauer, Orange County Register/SCNG)

OC Animal Care volunteer Jack Grazer nuzzles Chico while Nala greets admirers during OC Animal Care drive-through pet pantry in Tustin on Saturday, December 11, 2021. (Photo by Mindy Schauer, Orange County Register/SCNG)

Nala’s piercing blue eyes charms volunteers at OC Animal Care’s drive-through pet pantry in Tustin on Saturday, December 11, 2021. (Photo by Mindy Schauer, Orange County Register/SCNG)

Luna holds a new Christmas toy given during OC Animal Care’s drive-through pet food pantry in Tustin on Saturday, December 11, 2021. (Photo by Mindy Schauer, Orange County Register/SCNG)

OC Animal Care volunteer Emmy Perry greets Luna during the drive-through pet food pantry in Tustin on Saturday, December 11, 2021. (Photo by Mindy Schauer, Orange County Register/SCNG)

A car rolls away with two canine passengers after going through OC Animal Care’s drive-through pet pantry in Tustin on Saturday, December 11, 2021. (Photo by Mindy Schauer, Orange County Register/SCNG)

OC Animal Care volunteers work the drive-through food pantry for pets as the morning sun casts shadows on the building in Tustin on Saturday, December 11, 2021. (Photo by Mindy Schauer, Orange County Register/SCNG)

Luna steps over Angie Taylor to greet volunteers who hand the puppy a Christmas toy during OC Animal Care’s drive-through pet food pantry in Tustin on Saturday, December 11, 2021. (Photo by Mindy Schauer, Orange County Register/SCNG)

During the last drive-thru, volunteers handed out 11,470 pounds of food, helping feed 682 animals, Schmidt said. They also gave out dog and cat toys and treats. The dogs acted like excited children on Christmas morning.

When Delores Segura and her son, Eric, reached the front she had tears in her eyes as she explained she has cancer and is in hospice care.

“This means so much to not only the animal, but to the people,” she said of help received from the food pantry.

Segura was with Floppy, a rescue dog with a tongue that swirled from the right side of his mouth like a pipe.

“He’s my angel. He is with me 24/7,” she said of the small, shaggy tan-and-brown mutt. “The love he gives is amazing.” The 9-year-old dog always snuggles on the side where her tumor grows, she said.

Understanding their bond well was 17-year-old volunteer Emmy Perry from Dana Point. She said she bought a rat out from under a man in Petco after she overheard him saying he wanted the black-and-white rodent for snake food.

“It’s mine,” she told him.

Oscar Cupcake went on to live four more love-filled years in the Perry household.

Emmy Perry’s connection to animals spans at least three generations. Her grandmother, known as the cat lady in her Maui community, rescued and cared for a long resume of critters including chinchillas, a mongoose and a turkey she, too, spared from death at a feed store.

Elaine Perry, her mother, has been volunteering at the OC Animal Care since her daughter was born. After Emmy Perry was born, her mother strapped the child to her chest in a BabyBjorn carrier and continued volunteering.

So it was no surprise that when Santa Claus asked a then 6-year-old Emmy Perry what she wanted for Christmas, she replied, “I want to help homeless animals.”

Elaine Perry, not Santa, made the Christmas wish come true, setting up “Emmy’s Hope.” The website describes it as “a community for animals and the people who love them.”

Emmy Perry, an actress who has appeared in a couple of Hollywood movies, puts her own money into the organization, Elaine Perry said. She helps provide food, toys and supplies to shelters like OC Animal Care.

Emmy Perry estimated 500 dogs have been saved through the group’s networking with other charities, but mostly working with Beverly Hills reality star Lisa Vanderpump’s dog rescue.

Saturday morning, dozens of volunteers from different walks of life bonded over their love of creatures. Working for two hours, they kept the line of cars moving smoothly, hoisting 20-pound bags of food into open trunks and back seats.

And between all that, they still managed to fawn over the dogs.

“I remember you! It was your birthday last month,” a woman told Hippo, a 1-year-old Shar-Pei mix that jumped up and down inside the car.

Work stopped for Emmy and Elaine Perry when a tearful woman arrived holding a backpack containing a purring black kitten.

“I can’t leave another one in the street,” she said breaking down. She said she lived in an apartment and is not allowed to have pets.

The women brainstormed rescue groups. In the end, their vet agreed to take the kitten – they named it Jinx – and find it a home.

“When I opened the backpack and saw the cat, it stared into my soul,” Elaine Perry said.

The pantry, next held Jan. 8, will continue its work as long as there is need, Schmidt said. “So far we haven’t seen a decline.”

Since the program’s June 2020 inception, the shelter has given out 112,496 pounds of food, helping 9,988 animals including 5,098 dogs, 4,047 cats and 843 rabbits, guinea pigs, birds and such, Schmidt said.

The distribution relies on donations from individuals, nonprofit organizations and businesses. Recently the Fullerton Elks Lodge won a $3,500 Community Investments Program grant specifically for the food bank.

Anyone wishing to donate or volunteer can visit the OC Animal Care website: ocpetinfo.com or call 714-935-6848.

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