Terry Kelley CVT, CPDT, CAP1
First Published in Hudson Litchfield News, November 21, 2008
Holiday Pets
The picture of your smiling child with a family pet brings warmth
and joy to parents. After all, pets help a child learn love, responsibility
and empathy for other living creatures and provide a tender relationship
the child will cherish for life.
Before you adopt a pet
- Buy “Before and After Getting Your Puppy” by Dr. Ian Dunbar DVM.
With a wealth of information, this book guides you through selecting
the right puppy, socializing a puppy, training, housetraining,
preventing problems and more.
- Openly discuss whether the family truly has the time, energy,
finances and commitment to care for any pet, for the pet’s entire
lifespan. Puppies and kittens quickly grow up to be adults who can
live 15 or more years. Rabbits, Guinea pigs and smaller critters
can live from 2-12 years depending on the species.
- Educate yourself and your family and research the pet you want
to add to your family. Please do not adopt or buy any pet on impulse.
You may see a cute animal on a TV show or on the Internet, but too often
these animals are not appropriate for your family or lifestyle. Talk to
reputable breeders, shelters and rescue groups for more information. Be
patient and wait for the pet that will be a suitable for your family.
- Before adopting a pet, the family needs to discuss and agree upon
who will be responsible for the pet’s care and needs such as veterinary
care, grooming, nail trims, etc. A parent or other adult must be
the primary caregiver and guardian, as children are too young to be
solely responsible for the care and needs of a family pet. Children can
certainly participate in the care of a pet, and should be encouraged to
do so. But every parent needs to accept responsibility for the life of
the pet, just as he or she would do for their child.
- Pets are very sociable and need to live with the family and not be
relegated to the back yard. Do you have enough space in your home to
accommodate the living arrangements for a puppy, kitten (ex: puppy crates,
beds, bowls, toys, litter box, scratching post) or smaller animals that
needs a large cage to live in? Do you have a quiet area where each pet
can rest when they need to?
- Never adopt or buy a pet you have not met. The internet can be a
fabulous place to buy items we need, but it is not the place to adopt
a pet from. Many online sellers are nothing more than back yard breeders
or puppy/kitten mills. A pretty web site does not guarantee the quality,
health or temperament of the pet or that the breeder is reputable and ethical.
You must be able to travel to meet and interact with the pet, prior to
adoption. How else will you start to get to know each other? Too many people
realize too late, the pet they paid to have shipped to them, from an internet
seller, shelter or rescue group, is not appropriate for their family. Then
what do you do? Most of these sellers, will not accept the pet back, once
they have your money.
- Never adopt a pet that you, as the parent, do not like, even if your
child begs, pleads and promises to always, always, always care for it. Be
honest with yourself and your child. You are the adult and need to make a
responsible decision for everyone, including any pet. You will be the
caregiver for the pet when a child loses interest, gets involved in sports
or after school activities, goes off to college or moves away. Every animal
deserves to be well cared for, by someone who truly enjoys their company
and personality.
- The final decision to adopt a pet needs to be made by the parents,
even if it means postponing the addition of a pet to your family. It is
OK to tell your child that now is not the right time to get a pet.
Holiday Pets
To put this simply, acquiring any pet around any holiday is a very bad idea. Why?
- The holiday season is full of excitement. While we know holidays
are stressful for adults and children, we fail to admit our pets will
be stressed as well.
- Pets are not toys and should never be treated as such. Children
and adults can easily overwhelm a new pet, especially puppies and
kittens during the holidays. The pet may be easily scared and confused
and expecting it to adjust to your family life, in the chaos of the
holiday season is just not fair.
- When children tire of them, you cannot simply ignore the pet.
Puppies, kittens and smaller pets need daily attention, feeding,
water, exercise, socialization and more. Puppies must begin their
house training immediately, requiring trips outside every 2 hours.
Other pets will need litter boxes and cages cleaned daily. Whether
it is a holiday or just an average day, your pet will still need
to be cared for.
- Sadly, pets given as holidays gifts are too often surrendered
at a shelter or rescue group a few months after the holiday season.
The impulse buy and excitement of the Christmas puppy or Easter bunny,
has faded and many families now decide they do not have the time for a pet.
- Ask yourself “Do I really want to be house training a new puppy
or dog when it is cold and snowy?” What about socializing and training
your puppy to have good manners? The first months with a new puppy or
dog are extremely critical as they need positive socialization and
training classes in order to grow into well mannered adults. Are you
willing and able to commit to that?
So, buy a book on the pet you plan to adopt. Purchase some of the items
the pet will need when he comes to live with you. Wrap everything as presents
for the family and let them open the gifts on your special day. Explain that
after the holidays, you as a family will begin the search for that perfect pet.
Take your time and prepare for the arrival of your new pet, just as you
would a new baby. By educating your family and planning ahead, you will be
rewarded with years of joy and love from your new family pet. Every living
creature deserves to be welcomed into their new family and loved and cared
for, for life. Adopting a pet is a privilege, we should all treasure.
For more information, visit this web site about
not
giving pets as presents.
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