Christmas Time

     December 25. It’s the most wonderful time of the year. Family is visiting and cookies are being baked. The tree is going up and presents are being wrapped to go underneath it. Kids are writing their letters and to Santa and most will have one simply word written on it. Puppy. Or it might say something like “I want a puppy for Christmas this year.” Most parents skip over this request, but some decided to grant that wish.

     Being in the dog world I really wish that most parents would NOT give their children a puppy or kitten or any pet as a Christmas gift. It’s understandable that parents want to make their kids happy and give them everything they want, but the thing is an animal is not a thing. It is a living breathing creature. When they are small and cute and cuddly it is the most wonderful time of the year. When that tiny puppy starts to grow up and maybe chew on the wall its not so wonderful anymore.

     It isn’t the puppy’s fault that he was bored and unsupervised, so he chose to chew on something he didn’t know wasn’t a safe option. It was the humans fault and more specifically it was the adults fault. Yes, this gift may have been given to the seven-year-old with the understand it would be the child’s responsibly but at the end of the day you can’t except the average seven-year-old to be in charge of another living being.

     Come January, February, or even March these poor beings are dumped at the shelter. Some people are kind enough to give information to the shelter staff which greatly increases that pet’s chances of being adopted in the future. Other people just say they found the pet wandering the streets because they think the staff will be rude to them or not accept the animal if it comes from a home. Shelters are there for a reason to help the animals. The employees or volunteers are not going to judge.

     This Christmas season do the right thing. If you haven’t done your research and are just not prepared buy a Barbie instead. Wait until the time is right to welcome a new member into the family. Because that is what a pet is, a member of the family. They are a lot of work and a life time commitment. They are worth it though. Give it a little more though before you rush to buy a puppy. Think about rescuing an older dog for the holidays. They can be even cuter then puppies.