Pet owners were left tickled and horrified in equal measure after a vet surgery's attempt at the Elf on the Shelf challenge was a little too on-the-ball.
Lingfield Equine Vets in Felbridge, Surrey, may have taken the Christmas game a little far after their scene featured a freshly-castrated horse's testicle. Staff at the horse-specialist centre posted an image of a grinning Buddy the Elf wielding a set of tools used to castrate the animals next to a large, veiny horse testicle.
The stunt, which was captioned "these bells aren't very jingly", has divided social media users and while some saw the funny side claiming it was "genius", others branded it "just wrong" and "too far". Vet partner Kate Granshaw admitted she "ummed and aahed" about sharing the 'vet humour' post earlier this month knowing that not everyone would view it in the same light.
But ultimately she took the defiant decision to post it - with permission from the horse's owner - in a bid to spread some festive cheer. The 41-year-old said the "mischievous" elf had featured in several posts over the years to put a smile on people's faces.
Despite being caught on camera 'washing' medical implements, meddling with clippers and lurking in Christmas trees, Kate said this was Buddy's 'first castration'. Kate said: "Buddy's been around for a couple of years and he's a lot of fun for us and our staff.
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"It was a way of bringing a bit of Christmas spirit and connection with clients. We enjoy coming up with original posts. We've had a lot of likes previously but this particular post went completely viral in comparison.
Kate Granshaw was hesitant at first about sharing the stunt, but ultimately decided it would be good fun (Kennedy News and Media)
It was Buddy's 'first castration', Kate said (Kennedy News and Media)"I ummed and aahed about whether even to post it because it's very much our humour as vets and you never quite know how it's going to land with people who aren't quite so horsey. We've had the odd person who is maybe not expecting to see that come up on their newsfeed but the vast majority have really loved it.
"We came up with a few captions that were definitely not suitable for Facebook this was the one I eventually landed on and the rest is history. Buddy's wielding a set of emasculators next to a very freshly removed testicle from a horse. They normally come in pairs, they'd both been removed but only one participated [in the photo]."
Having captured the naughty elf in the surgery, Kate and her staff decide to up the ante and snap him immediately post-op. She added: "We often come up with ideas for posts and it was actually myself, our head nurse and a member of our reception team who came up with this particular post.
"The picture was taken at the owner's yard, with the owner's consent, where the surgery was done. He does come out and about on visits fairly regularly. Clients love seeing Buddy, they really enjoy it.
"It's just a bit of light-hearted Christmas fun. All of our clients are really receptive so our equine patients often participate in the Elf on the Shelf pictures. It's a castration or a gelding. It's a typical operation for male horses, there's nothing wrong with him at all."
Castration she said was a "common procedure" for horses, much like the neutering of cats and dogs. A photo of Buddy next to the bulging ball went viral, racking up more than 1,000 likes, shares and comments.
One person wrote: "That's just wrong!!!" Another commented: "This idea might be a bit too far for your kids." A third person wrote: "Wow think this might be a bit too far for elf on a shelf in my house."
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