As a little girl, I can fondly recall watching Lady and the Tramp and being enchanted by the idea of a ribbon-wrapped puppy under the Christmas tree. It seemed like the greatest gift idea ever, and I won't deny -- every year I was the tiniest bit disappointed at my lack of live presents!
But now that I am older, and much more active in the animal community, I have come to realise so many of the unwanted or neglected pets in our society stem from festive gift giving.
Puppies, kittens and baby bunnies are undeniably the most adorable things imaginable. Ask myself or some of my friends and they will gladly add baby guinea pigs, rats, and mice to this list too. It's pretty easy to assume the pet of your choice, popped in a box just before gifting, is the coolest thing you could give. We have all had those fleeting thoughts, even those of us who deal with the aftermath of Christmas in animal shelters and SPCA centres across the country.
However, after the initial cute factor has worn off and the hard work of pet ownership sets in, the novelty of a surprise pet can get old fast. Puppies and kittens wreck things, cost a lot to feed, and get bigger and less appealing to children. Landlords start discovering unauthorised pets, and next thing you know pets are being surrendered or dumped.
In the months following Christmas, the number of young animals surrendered to shelters, or worse, abandoned, spikes massively. The statistics vary from place to place, however I can say from experience that volunteering with kittens at the SPCA in January and February was a much harder job than later in the year.
