Dog and Cat Adoption: Once Upon a Christmas by Noah!

"A Dog at Christmas!"

Photo by Lorena Esparza from Pexels

Once upon a Christmas, not too many years ago, I was adopted by my humans and brought home to celebrate life with them! I wasn’t a surprise Christmas present to my humans by any means as they adopted me together. As it was the Christmas season and Mom’s Christmas bonus was used to pay the expenses of my adoption. Dad likes to say that I am his best Christmas present ever!

Barkingly, on many Christmases along the way dogs and cats, are given presents to surprise mini-humans only to have a disaster on Christmas day. Or another day and time for that matter. Lucy accidentally gets bitten when playing with the new pup. Or Bobby rough houses too much with the pup and gets scratched. Or, personalities of the mini-humans, other humans in the house, and the new dog or cat just don’t mesh. It’s a sad situation for all involved as the mini-humans are upset, the dog or cat is upset, and are usually taken to a local shelter and left in confusion thinking “I didn’t do anything wrong!” Woof!

A few paws to consider when adopting a dog or cat barkingly before getting one for Christmas. First, gifting a pet is not just something at Christmas- it is a 10-20 year commitment! The Christmas season and the weeks after can be full of wintry weather - remember someone will need to housetrain “Barksters” even on the coldest, snowiest, darkest days of the season. Unless you already have the experience, the weather will make it a seemingly impawssible chore! Warmer weather is a better time for new pet owners. Are the mini-humans old enough for the responsibility of caring, handling, and living with a pet? Have you considered the financial commitment? It can cost $700/year for cats and $800/year for a medium dog and more for a larger dog! WOOFs!! Are you committed to the pet? When the mini-human becomes involved in sports or goes off to college, you might be the one responsible for the pet's care. MEOW! HISS! Do you have an appropriate space for a pet? Dogs need places to run and play like a fenced backyard. A new pet is not the best way to teach mini-humans responsibility. Responsibility should be taught before the pet is even considered. Paws, if the pet doesn’t work out, it can be a pawful situation for your mini-humans and you to take them to the shelter and leave!

What to do? Barkingly, the volunteers at Rescues and shelters, are often great resources, as well as reading my blog- WOOFs!- to adopting pets and caring for them. Visit rescues read about in my writings, visit www.petfinder.com or www.adopt-a-pet.org. which allow you to search for the pet which suits your needs. Visit some of the online quizzes too!

Barks, if you decide to place Barksters or Meowsers under the tree, never ever wrap them up, even placing bows, clothes, or other decorations on them as we’ve all seen on a barkzillion TV shows can be dangerous. Instead, place a stuffed toy dog or cat with a gift card to a local rescue or shelter attached.