Puppies are cute, fun, and cuddly. No wonder many of us have had children or other adults tell us they want one as a holiday gift.
Although this may sound like a charming idea, the staff and volunteers at the Berkeley-East Bay Humane Society (BEBHS) spend a lot of time during the holidays (and all year) counseling well-meaning people on the pitfalls of giving someone a live animal as a present. Animals are sentient beings – not dolls or other inanimate objects – and there are ethical as well as practical issues to be considered before adding one to your own or another household.
Every pet has a unique personality. Puppies, especially, are full of energy and often quite vocal about needing attention. In order to grow into good canine citizens, they need lots of time, love, and proper training. Often, children or adults may think they are ready for the responsibility of a pet, only to find that they don’t have the time and energy to be good puppy parents, after all, or that the animals given to them as gifts are not good matches.
In such cases, a gesture intended as a gift of joy instead causes sadness and sometimes tragedy for the puppy.
One scenario for unwanted puppies is that they are returned to the shelters that adopted them out. How sad for a young animal who thinks a loving home has finally been found to be returned days, weeks, or even months later because it just doesn’t work out. Even more tragic, many such puppies are abandoned to backyards, where they live in isolation. All too often, the person who has received the well-intentioned gift of a pet (be it a puppy, kitten, hamster, or whatever) winds up feeling bad about not providing the care and comfort the animal deserves.
If you know a child or adult who is truly ready to be a responsible pet parent, make plans in advance to take him or her (along with all household members) to your local animal shelter to visit with available animals and talk with adoption counselors. At BEBHS, we spend hours answering questions and helping families select new pets that will match their lifestyles and personalities.
Sometimes a person comes to our adoption center with a firm idea of what he is looking for, but then changes his mind after talking to one of our counselors. One prospective pet parent walked into BEBHS looking for a very large dog as a companion but realized after talking to a staff person that he’d be happier with a cat! A few weeks later, he came back and adopted a wonderful feline friend.
The relationship between a human and a pet is a long-term commitment. It can only be happy and healthy when a natural bond occurs. Giving an animal as a gift is like setting up two friends on a blind date – success stories are rare; usually the match just doesn’t take.
If you are thinking of giving a pet to your child, begin the process by volunteering together at your local animal shelter so that you both can see how much time and attention is needed to properly feed, groom, love, and otherwise care for a new pet. At BEBHS, children as young as 10 can become volunteers, and many of them eventually take home a new pet that they and their families have come to love. Some young volunteers, on the other hand, realize that caring for a pet is a major commitment that they are not ready for – and it is far less heartbreaking for child and pet alike if this decision is made while the animal is still at BEBHS.
It’s important to realize that the holiday season, in general, is not a good time to introduce a new pet to your household. All the hustle and bustle can be very scary to animals, even those who have lived all their lives with you. A new pet is easily stressed and may look for ways to escape to avoid all the unfamiliar noise and activity.
I encourage you to enjoy your holidays without adding a new pet to your own or anyone else’s household – and then visit your local animal shelter in January. On behalf of everyone at the Berkeley-East Bay Humane Society, I wish you wonderful holidays and a fantastic 2008.
Mim Carlson is the Executive Director of the Berkeley-East Bay Humane Society, 2700 Ninth Street, Berkeley CA 94710. Visit www.berkeleyhumane.org or call 510-845-7735 for information about their many programs for pets and people.
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