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SPCA heads warning about gifting pets over holidays

Dec 16, 2017 | 10:38 AM

Every parent wants to see their child’s face light up on Christmas and while a new puppy or kitten is not on every list to Santa, the Battlefords Humane Society urges parents to think long and hard before gifting an animal.

According to Michelle Spark, manager of the Battlefords Humane Society, the holiday season can yield plenty of pet adoptions, however, it also generates the most returns. This is why Spark has a certain set of rules that must be followed before she allows anyone to adopt a pet as a gift.

“We honestly think getting a pet as a gift can be an amazing thing; we are just very cautious about how we do it,” Spark said. “We will not adopt out an animal as a Christmas gift unless the person it is for knows they are getting it.”

Spark said there have been far too many cases where someone comes in and adopts a pet for someone else, only to come back two hours later and tell her the person they bought it for didn’t want it or couldn’t care for it. This, she said, is more unfair to the animals than anything else.

Spark said the Battlefords Humane Society came up with an alternative solution to the problem, though it may not be as exciting as receiving a live animal Christmas morning.

“You are welcome to buy a gift card in the amount it costs to buy a cat or a dog and give that to someone as a gift. If they don’t want the animal then you’re out the money, but you would have been anyway if you bought it.”

She explained how with a gift card, the buyer could at least sell it to someone else who plans on adopting an animal.

As for parents buying an animal for their children, while Michelle is fond of the idea, wanted to make sure parents understood what they are getting into.

“If they’re buying their six-year-old a dog the novelty will only last as long as a new toy. So after two weeks, the parents have a new dog, not the six-year-old. We make sure parents are fully aware and fully willing to care for that animal through the duration of its life.”

Ultimately, Spark said a pet shouldn’t be treated as a new toy because toys can be discarded and reiterated how the humane society’s goal is to find pets a forever, loving home.

 

 

greg.higgins@jpbg.ca

On Twitter @realgreghiggins