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I seem to have lost the post I started. Darn it!
Here is what I said in a nutshell.
Please do not buy a pet for a gift. Unless you know without a doubt that the person your buying for wants a pet and is willing to make a lifetime commitment to that animal. Yes, a life time. The animals life time.
After the holidays shelters and rescue groups are flooded with unwanted holiday pets. That cute kitten or puppy that brought such joy is now a nuisance. It needs to be fed, watered, walked and played with. But no one has the time. It needs to be housebroken, it chews things or claws things. It has gone from being a happy event to an unhappy event.
So now it gets relegated to the yard. Left alone and ignored. The petting and happiness of it’s initial arrival is now but a dream. The kids promised they would take care of it. But now they don’t want to be responsible either. Now it sits and wonders if it is even remembered. All it wants is to love you. Animals are thinking, feeling creatures. They cannot tend themselves. Dogs are pack animals also. They need the company of humans or others of their kind to survive and be healthy. But suddenly no one has the time. So off to the shelter it goes!
If it is a no-kill shelter it may have years before it finds a loving home. If it is a kill shelter it may have 1 – 3 days before it is killed. Give it what ever pleasant name you like, that is what it is. And it is likely to be killed in the most efficient and cheapest method available. Usually gassing. Hardly a noble end when all it wanted was a home to be loved in. Instead it is gasping it’s life away because of human carelessness. Harsh of me? Yes but it is true.
A pet will repay your love and care with love and loyalty like no other creature will ever give you. But it is a commitment on your part to tend their needs, they cannot do it themselves.
And what does it say to a child that the moment it becomes inconvenient off it goes? Your deeds should reflect you words.
And please do not drive it to the country and release it. These are domesticated animals. They are ill equipped to live in the wild. The people in those areas have all the animals they want. Your unwanted pet is likely to be shot, hit by a car, trapped, poisoned, starve to death or killed by another animal. Surely that is not what you planned.
So this holiday season try a stuffed toy, or one of the robotic pets. All the joy with none of the mess. Remember, taking on a pet really is a lifetime commitment. The life of the pet.
If you don’t know if you have the time to commit, many shelters and rescue groups offer rent a pet. Everything you need to tend a pet for a weekend is provided. Call it the “try it before you buy it” plan. Or offer to foster, at least if it doesn’t work out the animal has a place to return to where it is safe and has a chance at a real home. No shame in admitting it wasn’t for you. That is why they offer the programs. To give you a chance to see if it really will work for you. And most shelters would rather have an animal returned to them if it doesn’t work out. Yes, they are disappointed. But they understand that sometimes it doesn’t work out and are grateful to have it returned to them rather than callously abandoned. If it makes it easier for you, you can prepay the adoption fee for the next home. That way, someone who may want it but unable to afford the fee will be able to take it.
Happy holidays! And please remember to give your pet a hug. They love you, no matter what.