Dear Readers,

I wanted to address a question that always comes around during the holidays. It's whether or not pets should be gifted.

As a pet advocate, I'm strongly against this. First, it's a personal decision and not one to be taken lightly. Caring for pet takes a lot of time, patience and money. By gifting someone a pet, you are placing that recipient in an awkward situation. Maybe they don't have the room, time or money to care for the animal. It's highly probable that they will return the pet back to the shelter. Why put them and the pet in that situation? 

During Easter, many bunnies and chicks are gifted. Many don't know that these animals are high maintenance. Yes, they are cute, however, they require a lot of upkeep. A few weeks after Easter, many are returned to the shelter or dumped.  Domestic animals can't survive in the wild. They aren't equipped with survival instincts. Unless you are an experienced bunny or chick owner, please don't adopt or gift one.

An alternative gift could be donating in memory of a friends or relative beloved pet or sponsoring a shelter pet in honor of a friend of relative. You not only be helping the pet receive the care needed for being adopted faster, you will keep pets from entering the shelter.

I would like to wish you a wonderful holiday season and please be safe.

Sincerely,

Catherine Marie Stillwell

Feel free to leave me your thoughts about this topic. I look forward to hearing from you!