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Animals @ Home // General Issues
Why
Animals Do Not Make Good Gifts
Animals, like us, require love and proper care to flourish.
Although people who give animals as gifts invariably have
good intentions, it is unfair to give an animal to anyone
unless you are absolutely certain that the person wants
that particular animal as a companion and is willing and
able to give a lifetime of proper care.
Think
Before Giving
Adding an animal companion to the family is an important
decision. It means making a permanent commitment to care
for and spend time with the animal and to provide for his
or her lifelong care.
Why Animals Do Not Make Good Gifts
Before adopting, consider the time and money involved in
proper animal care. Will your loved one have the time and
patience to exercise and housetrain the animal? Is he or
she prepared to pay for food, accessories (such as toys,
grooming supplies, leashes and harnesses, and bedding),
inoculations, and veterinary care, including spaying or
neutering, flea treatment, deworming, and emergency care?
If a family decides to adopt an animal, every member of the
family should go to the local animal shelter together to
choose the animal, having already discussed the obligations
and long-term commitments involved. Please, never buy from
breeders or pet stores, and always practice your
ABCs—animal birth
control. For every animal
purchased from a breeder or a pet shop, a potential home
is taken away from a homeless dog or a cat at a local
animal shelter.
Children
May Not Be Ready
Small children may unintentionally harm animals, even
breaking their fragile bones or causing other fatal
injuries, when they think they are playing. Puppies,
kittens, bunnies, chicks, baby ducks, and other young
animals are especially vulnerable.
We have heard too many stories about families in which the
child has lost interest in an animal, and the adult is
forced to make the difficult decision on the best way to
"solve" the problem. Often this means turning the animal
over to a crowded shelter or pound or—worse—passing the
animal on to a series of homes, causing trauma,
psychological scarring, and behavioral problems.
Too
Few Happy Endings
Animal shelters are filled beyond capacity with homeless
animals, many of whom were former "pets" who, for one
reason or another, didn't fit into someone's lifestyle. No
matter how much they would like to, many people who receive
animals as gifts find that they are unable to make the
lifelong commitment to care for their new companion.
Sadly, many people end up turning animals they received as
gifts over to an overburdened humane society or
animal-control agency that is likely filled to capacity. In
worst-case scenarios, some people even abandon animals on
the road or in the back yard when they move away.
What
You Can Do
* Don't ever give an animal as a gift. If you have
discussed the idea with the prospective recipients and know
that they have the time, willingness, ability, and
resources to properly care for an animal and make that
serious commitment, consider offering them a gift
certificate from the local animal shelter.
* If you attend a
fair, flea market, or other event at which animals are
being given away, educate those who are
responsible. If people are offering
free kittens or puppies, for example, explain the risks of giving animals to
unknown passersby—some people sell dogs and cats to
laboratories or dealers, and others abuse, neglect, or
abandon them.
* Sign our pledge saying that you
will never buy an animal from a pet store or a breeder
and that you will always practice your ABCs (animal
birth control) by spaying or neutering your animal
companions.
Donate Now You can improve the lives of dogs and cats
suffering from cruelty and neglect.
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