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Best Friends Animal Society offers tips to help gift pets wisely this holiday season
While many may find a puppy or kitten with a bow under the Christmas tree an adorable sight, there are important factors to take into consideration before gifting a pet this holiday season. Best Friends Animal Society, a leading national animal welfare organization working to take the country no-kill*, which means saving every healthy and treatable pet in shelters, encourages those wanting to gift a furry companion this holiday season to choose the adoption option.
Data from Best Friends reports that on average, 210,000 pets are adopted in December and 180,000 adoptions happen in January. While some may have concerns that pets acquired around the holidays often end up in shelters, Best Friends data shows owner surrenders are no higher in January than at other times throughout the year.
“Best Friends Animal Society believes pets belong in loving homes, not shelters, but hundreds of thousands of pets across the country are currently sitting in shelters still waiting for homes of their own,” said Julie Castle, CEO, Best Friends Animal Society. “Gifting a pet during the holidays is a meaningful way to spread holiday cheer, and by choosing the adoption option, anyone can make a homeless pet's holiday wish come true.”
To provide peace of mind to those considering adding a new family member this December, here are the top three things to consider:
- Check your list twice – When gifting a pet, it’s important to confirm that everyone in the household is ready and fully committed to caring for the new dog or cat. While the idea of a surprise is sweet, it’s important to take life with a pet into consideration, from daily walks to cleaning the litter box. Getting on board with responsibilities early will help make the transition easier for everyone.
- Gift the experience, not the pet - Consider giving a gift certificate from your local shelter or rescue group instead of a specific pet. This lets the recipient make a lasting memory by going to meet, choose, and bring home their new companion. To still present them with a physical gift, wrap the gift certificate with new pet essentials or plan a visit together to help them find their new best friend.
- Two gifts in one – Always choose to adopt from a local animal shelter or rescue group when gifting a cat or dog. By adopting a pet, two lives are saved – the pet who has found a loving home and the pet who can now take its place in the shelter. Plus, if just 6% more people planning to bring home a new pet chose to adopt instead of purchase, the country would achieve no-kill.
“The holidays are the season of giving, and even if you aren’t in the position to adopt right now, consider fostering during the holidays. Many use this time to relax and spend additional time at home, and giving back by letting a dog or cat decompress in a warm home for a few days or weeks is a great way to savor the cozy season,” said Castle.
To learn more visit bestfriends.org.
* No-kill is defined by a 90% save rate for animals entering a shelter and is a meaningful and common-sense benchmark for measuring lifesaving progress. Typically, the number of pets who are suffering from irreparable medical or behavioral issues that compromise their quality of life and prevent them from being rehomed is not more than 10% of all dogs and cats entering shelters. For any community to be no-kill, all stakeholders in that community must work together to achieve and sustain that common goal while prioritizing community safety and good quality of life for pets as guiding no-kill principles. This means cooperation among animal shelters, animal rescue groups, government agencies, community members and other stakeholders, all committed to best practices and protocols.