PETS AS GIFTS…PLEASE THINK IT THROUGH
As the seasons change from fall to winter, I get an increase in phone calls and e-mails asking if I will have any puppies available as holiday gifts. I always tell people the same thing. Puppies and kittens do not make very good holiday time gifts, or even birthday gifts for that matter.
Most people want to surprise their children with a new pet as a gift, but just as often I get requests for adult pet gifts too. They can just imagine the joy that this kind of living gift will bring.
The holidays are just too hectic for everyone concerned to be bringing the responsibility of a new life into your home. It is very stressful and confusing on the pet and often the family when there is such an addition. The pet is missing it’s siblings and mamma, and is usually stressed out in even the best of circumstances. The hustle and bustle of the holidays dramatically increases the stress factor. Just think of all the new responsibilities the pet owner has. You have to remember that the pet is just an infant, needing proper rest, proper food and water, and house training, along with vet visits to insure proper health and well being. We are all so busy during the holidays, and a time consuming first vet appointment is often put off. Your new pet should ideally be seen by a vet the day you bring it home.
If you are considering a new pet for the holidays, please think about it, and the repercussions it may have on the pet and your family. How about a card with a picture of the puppy or kitten, and a promised date of arrival in the near future? You will get the same happy response, and the pet will come into your home at a time that is so much less stressful for pet and owner alike.
Another consideration as to giving a pet as a gift, is that your idea of the perfect pet for someone else, might not be their idea of the perfect pet. Why not another kind of “promissory note” giving you the option of still giving the pet, and them the option of what type of pet suits their needs, wants, and life style? So many times “gifted” pets end up in the pound, or in the hands of rescue groups. That is not a happy memory for anyone, and the pet is the poor little creature that will suffer the consequences.