It's tempting to buy a pet as a Christmas gift for a friend or loved one. It's so tempting when you see the little puppy faces at the pet store. Unfortunately, the choice is often driven by trying to get a great gift (cute! fluffy! cuddly!) and not what's in the pet's best interest.
The Central Dakota Humane Society in Mandan has a great article on their web site titled, Although Love is a Gift, a Pet Shouldn't Be. If you or someone you know is considering buying a pet as a gift this holiday season, please read this article first and share it with friends/family. Click HERE to read the article.
I also found an article on the Nova Scotia SPCA site from 2004 that discusses this topic:
Choosing a pet is a very individual thing”, says Judith Gass , NS SPCA President. " And the decision to bring any companion animal into a family should be that family's decision, not a surprise gift.” Most children, to whom the pet is usually given, do not have the strength, attention span, self-discipline and physical strength to care for a dog or cat by themselves. So a parent becomes the primary caretaker, doing the feeding, walks, litter scooping and all of the other chores the children once promised to do themselves. That might be okay for a little while, but unless the adult was fully committed to the animal in the first place, resentment grows, and the gift puppy is usually given up within the first year or consigned to the backyard, starved for training, socialization and affection.
For the full text of the article click HERE.
IN SUMMARY DON'T BUY A PET AS A CHRISTMAS GIFT!
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