When an animal shelter desperately needed a dental X-ray machine, a county employee and mixed martial arts fighter worked fundraising magic in an unusual way: pledging to dress as the Tooth Fairy.

California’s County of Santa Clara Animal Services Center takes in around 5,000 animals each year, according to Lisa Jenkins, the shelter’s manager.

“They come to us in sometimes really poor condition, and a lot of these pets have never had any dental care ever,” she said. “We want to make it as easy for people to choose adoption as possible, so one of the things we really try and do is get them as ready for adoption as we can, including not passing on a pet that needs an expensive dental procedure right away after getting adopted.”

The center also offers dental care to community cats brought in for trap-neuter-return services so that when they are returned to their wild realm, they can live a healthy outdoor life, she noted.

The shelter’s veterinarians needed a dental X-ray machine to best help pets as quickly as possible. So this March, Jenkins requested a dental X-ray machine during a senior leadership team meeting — despite hearing “doom and gloom” about the county’s severe budget constraints.

Since there was no money for a dental X-ray machine, someone suggested a fundraising campaign. That’s when Edgar Nolasco, director of the Consumer and Environmental Protection Agency for the County of Santa Clara, which oversees the County of Santa Clara Animal Services Center, remembered an Instagram video he’d seen.

“A new company was trying to get enough likes or followers, and if they hit a certain number, their boss would dress up as a Disney princess,” he recalled. “So along those lines, I’m like, ‘Well, a Tooth Fairy — and we can make it funny.’”

The Animal Services Center needed to raise $12,500 for the dental X-ray machine. Nolasco — who is also an MMA fighter — pledged to dress as the Tooth Fairy if that fundraising goal was met.

“I have an 11-year-old and he was making fun of me,” he said. “He’s like, ‘Oh, you’re going to be in a tutu?’ And I was like, ‘Yeah, whatever it takes.’”

The prospect of seeing that happen proved a powerful incentive for the community after seeing his pledge on social media. Co-workers started pools with other departments, and in the private sector, companies offered one-to-one matches on donations.

Donors seemed to like knowing there was a specific need for the dental X-ray machine — and the bonus reward, according to Jenkins.

“Within the county, we’re a big agency and he’s very well known,” she said. “So the fun of, ‘Let’s make Edgar dress up,’ was really getting people to donate.”

Sure enough, the community surpassed the $12,500 goal in less than a month. So Nolasco — not wanting to use any county money — dipped into his wallet to purchase a Tooth Fairy costume, including a tutu, tiara, wand and wings.

“I honestly thought we weren’t going to hit our goal,” he said. “Much to my surprise, we went above and beyond. Our community really rose to the challenge.”

True to his word, on March 23, Nolasco arrived at the County of Santa Clara Animal Services Center dressed as the Tooth Fairy to the delight of shelter staff and volunteers. He even agreed to skip around and make funny poses for an Instagram reel .

“Everybody was getting a kick out of it,” he said. “I was laughing most of the time out of embarrassment, but it was great.”

Now the shelter team is “very, very happy” to have the dental X-ray machine and uses it “all the time,” according to Jenkins. She hopes other animal shelters and advocates will be inspired by Nolasco’s example to find innovative ways to raise money to help animals.

“Especially in these times, you have to find ways to make yourself stand out and find ways to make it fun for people to engage. There’s so much need out there,” she said. “It’s great that we had Edgar willing to participate in that way.”