Have an animal lover on your holiday shopping list? Who doesn’t! You might think that a pet would be the perfect gift, especially with the shelters running specials all the time. But please don’t surprise someone with a living creature — ever! It could backfire big time and cause heartache all around, especially for the animal involved.

Forget the cost of buying or adopting the animal, that’s small potatoes compared to the lifetime cost of caring for another being. Food, litter, toys and other supplies quickly add up making a pet the gift that keeps on costing. And that’s if they are healthy and don’t need any medical attention. A sick pet can put a huge dent in a wallet in no time. In this economic climate, giving someone a gift with a potentially huge price tag is simply not fair. It could cause embarrassment as a friend that you thought was doing well was just hiding how tight the budget had truly become and if children are involved then you have their disappoint to deal with too, when mom and dad say “no” to keeping the unexpected pet.

Dear Abby recently had a column about this very topic. A person wrote in and said that she raised rabbits and her friend had fallen in love with one. She was asking if it would be okay to give it to her for her birthday and whether she would then need to also supply the cage. Dear Abby counseled against giving the pet as a present at least without consulting the parents first (it sounded like these were both teenagers) to make sure the animal would be welcomed into the home. Can you imagine your son or daughter getting a gift like that? Surprise!

Other reasons to hold off on springing an animal on someone is the amount of time they can take up. If your friend is already busy with life (work, school, activities, friends, etc.) exactly when will she/he have time to care for another daily responsibility? Too many pets that were given as gifts get ignored, or surrendered to shelters, once the excitement of the holiday is over and the realization of the responsibility involved sinks in. 

One way to find out if a pet would work is to give a gift certificate (and maybe wrap a rawhide or scratching post) and give that as the gift. We have a certificate that says you will pay the adoption fee for the pet of their choice (picking a pet for someone else is impossible to do since the bond is so personal). You don’t have to pay upfront for the certificate so if they look at you shocked you can gracefully back out of the deal.

Lots of parents want to get a pet for their children for the holidays — it’s a great time with the kids home for vacation. We do suggest not trying to hide the animal for the big morning. The poor creature just gets lost in the midst of all the other toys. Even a young child can understand that Santa can’t crowd all the pets on the same sleigh as the other toys and instead chooses to bring them safely the next day. You can come in and put an animal on hold and we’ll send home a photo in a card for the child to open on Christmas morning.

Giving the gift of love is wonderful, as long as it’s done responsibly. Bring the family in and select the animal together — what a wonderful holiday activity.  Hopefully the pet you select will bring joy for many years to come.

Upcoming events: Meet the Bunny — second Saturday of each Month (Dec. 10) from 1-5:30 p.m. Meet our adoptable rabbits, ask care questions of our knowledgeable volunteers and shop our bunny boutique for fresh hay, rabbit toys and accessories and some cute gifts for the bunny lovers on your shopping list.