Animals do not make good Christmas presents
It happens every year at Christmas time. Cocoa, a 4 month old black pit bull puppy, was purchased from a pet store a few weeks before Christmas as a Christmas present. A month later, she was in a cage at a Virginia Beach shelter with a broken leg, waiting for a new family to hopefully adopt her. The shelter staff were told that Cocoa was the victim of too much rough play with the family’s two other dogs.
Combined with the bad economy, there has been a sharp intake of abandoned pets to area shelters. Families who have had pets for years are turning them in because they can no longer afford to feed and care for them. Oftentimes people do not realize the responsibilities and costs that go with adopting or buying a pet. It is especially bad to buy a pet as a Christmas present for another person when it is not know if that person can responsibly care for the pet.
Shelter manager Suzanne Swims of the Norfolk SPCA says that staff won’t allow animals to be adopted as gifts for other people. Sharon Adams, executive director of the Virginia Beach SPC says that families have to understand what they are getting into, their new puppy is not an accessory, and no, they can’t necessarily get it in black.
This is not merchandise, she said. This is adding a companion to your family.
Most responsible animal shelters have a set of minimum requirements that must be met by anyone wanting to adopt a pet. Some shelters are more strict about the requirements for a prospective adopting family. An example of such requirements are the ones that must be met if you are to adopt a pet from Animal Rescue of Tidewater. In addition to the requirements the shelter asks many questions about your circumstances and expectations as well as trying to raise awareness of potential problems and the responsibilities that come with caring for a pet.
Unfortunately the only requirement that most pet stores have is that you can pay for the pet. They don’t care whether you are aware of the responsibilities that come with buying a pet or whether you will be able to take proper care of the pet. They only want to be paid. I personally will never buy a pet from a pet store. Unless you are a professional breeder looking for a champion dog or cat you should always adopt from a shelter. Every time I have visited a shelter it has broken my heart to think that as many as 50 % of the pets that are at the shelter will eventually be euthanized. So much of that could be avoided if people were better educated about what is needed to responsibly own a pet.
Even if you encounter unexpected problems with your new pet there are many resources available, many of them free, that can help you correct the problem instead of just turning the pet into a shelter. For me owning a pet is almost like being married. It should be “till death do us part.” Pets deserve the very best we can provide for them. I don’t know of a better deal than the undying loyalty, love, joy and comfort that a pet can provide. Just make sure that it is a two way street. Little Cocoa deserves it.
Comments
By Benedict Hudson on January 8th, 2009 at 9:12 pm
My dogs are the core of my being. That story was so sad to read. It is sad that many people do not understand the responsibilities of owning a pet, its almost a big reason why we have one. My dogs have taught me so many lessons in leadership and responsibility. I learn from them every day.
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