Community

BCSPCA happy to see pets gifted for Christmas if family is ready

Ideally the family discussed and researched beforehand.

  • Holidays can be ideal time to adopt
  • Research is necessary beforehand
  • Not a shaming event to return pets if not ideal

Amidst the perennial discussion of gifting pets as presents for Christmas, the BCSPCA is happy to see them go to their forever home if the right conditions are met.

“When we’re talking about pets as gifts at Christmastime, there’s a lot of different ideas about that. It’s good, it’s bad, it’s ugly, all that, we get it,” Sean Hogan, manager at the BCSPCA Kelowna branch told Kelowna10.

“But one of the things we do at the SPCA is we’re not going to discourage people from giving pets as gifts. As long as the recipient is ready.”

Because many families have time off, the holidays may be an ideal opportunity to adopt. It would allow for much needed time to integrate the newest family member.

One option to gift a pet is a ‘pay it forward’ adoption where someone would pay the necessary fees. Then the family would visit the shelter to pick out a suitable companion.

However, there are occasions where the SPCA would not recommend gifting an animal.

This includes if the recipient hasn’t received permission from their landlord or tenants, or if they can’t afford to properly care for a canine or feline.

According to Hogan, cats will cost about $1,000 a year for quality food and veterinary care, including a yearly check-up.

Dogs represent a larger cost. The amount varies depending on breed, size, and other factors. Dogs’ health issues also cost more than cats’ on average.

Ideally a family has discussed the possibility of a pet and have done their research. Shelter staff said instances have happened where families discovered allergies after the adoption.

“I think one of the things about readiness is that folks understand animals take time. They’re a commitment for life,” Hogan said.

“It’s not like, ‘oh convenient, we’ll just have a kitten for a couple of weeks because we’re off work for that time.’ It’s more thinking of the animal’s needs. And asking yourself if you can provide for those needs.”

If a pet isn’t a good fit the SPCA does not shame people for returning them.

“The goal is to have a home that is a good match for the animal. If it turns out that’s not a good match after all the research, interviews, and counselling we’ve done together, we learn from each other,” Hogan said.

“We don’t want people to think that they would be shamed in doing so. That’s not the case. We’re going to learn from the situation and re-home that animal.”

Published 2021-12-20 by David Hanson

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