Donated cats and dogs are much more often brought to the shelter, since the recipient of the gift does not participate in the process of choosing a pet, the received gift is imposed on him/her and does not correspond to the lifestyle, financial capabilities, maybe he/she does not even have the desire to take care of the four-legged.
A sweater that you do not like, a useless souvenir or another cup is easy enough to return, give it away or drop it into the attic and forget about it. However, animals are living, breathing, feeling creatures that cannot be re-gifted or returned, if they do not correspond to the desire of a human.
The problem of giving pets is relevant all year round – animals are given for birthdays, anniversaries, Christmas. This problem is especially active before Christmas. An impulsive desire to take an animal from a shelter before the holidays is not a good solution, since the animal is not a GIFT or the basis of the act of kindness.
“Accepting an animal into the family must be very well thought out, it should be a responsible decision of adults, and not a spontaneous act led by festive feelings. Unfortunately, we still have to remind the public of the old truth – the animal is not a thing and not a gift”, – says Beatrice Vaitiekunaite-Pliuske, the Manager of PI “Gyvunu geroves iniciatyvos”.
A child asks for a puppy or kitten for Christmas?
Responsible parents will first make it clear to the child that animals are not gifts, but a commitment that is assumed by the whole family for a period of 10–20 years. We urge you not to be guided by emotions; do not rush and properly assess your capabilities. And if the decision is positive, the pet’s arrival home needs to be prepared, and festive fever is by no means the most suitable time for additional troubles with the animal, which inevitably will be.
Before accepting an animal into the house, discuss with children and other family friends future troubles:
- The puppy needs to be walked, and the kitten’s litter box should be changed.
- You need to engage with animals, play, train and pay attention to them, because they, especially dogs, are social animals.
- The animal needs to be fed, be given tasty treats, spoiled with a piece of meat.
- The animal can get sick, and its treatment is definitely not cheap. In addition, there are constant costs for deworming, tick medications, vaccinations or prophylaxis.
- The animal needs to be combed, washed, to have its hair and claws trimmed.
- It happens that children or other family members develop an allergy to an animal, so we strongly advise you to get acquainted with the animal and spend some time with it in its environment – visit it in a shelter or with a breeder, depending on what kind of animal you decided to take into the family. By refusing the animal, after a while spent in your family, you will traumatize the animal.
- Make sure that the animal will get along with other animals or small children you keep. Evaluate if you are planning a family growth.
- Think about whether you will have somewhere to leave the animal during trips and whether you will be able to take it with you if you make the decision to emigrate.
The animal is not a thing, not a toy, that, when fed, can be knocked into a barn or chained to a doghouse, or given to a shelter. The animal is a living and social being that will require at least 10 years of your financial and emotional commitment.
During the Christmas period, it is better to take the time and:
- Watch this educational videos made by us, about what challenges await while raising animals: https://bit.ly/GGI-Edukaciniai-Filmukai
- Visit an animal shelter, feed the puppies there, help tidy up the cat huts, see, how the children react to it, and the children themselves will understand whether they really want a puppy or kitten.
And after the bustle of holidays, you will be able to make the right decision, because the animal is not a gift, but a responsible decision for your family.
Why animals cannot be presents?
When picking Christmas gifts, some people decide that their relatives will be delighted to find an animal under the Christmas tree. Unfortunately, the reality is quite different – donated animals are often thrown away after the holidays or appear in animal shelters.
For more information about such gifts and their consequences to the recipients of gifts and animal shelters, check LNK TV news report.
Our colleague Lina Vaitekunaite shared in it the position of the organization that the acceptance of an animal into the family must be very well thought out, this should be a responsible decision of the future owner of the animal, and not a spontaneous act led by festive feelings.
The Manager of GGI Beatrice Vaitiekunaite-Pliuske’s thoughts on why the festive period is not a good time to acquire a pet
An impulsive desire to take an animal from a shelter before the holidays is not a good solution, since the animal is not a GIFT or the basis of the act of kindness.
Acceptance of an animal into the family must be very well thought out, it should be a responsible decision of adults without being influenced by festive feelings.
Can you gift an animal to the elderly? Is it the right decision to satisfy the whim of a child to have a puppy? What needs to be evaluated when deciding to take an animal into a family?
Timeless truths about this in our Manager’s Beatrice Vaitiekunaite-Pliuske conversation with DELFI.lt journalist a year ago.
The GGI community speaks, why the animal is not a present
In the competition announced by us, the participants shared their thoughts on why an animal cannot be a gift.
Most of them wrote that:
The animal is not a gift, but a family member who must come to the family thoughtfully.
The appearance of an animal in the family brings not only joy, but also a bunch of obligations – this is a great moral and financial responsibility.
It needs to be fed, washed, cut, walked, trained, devoted quality time, treatment in case of illness and many other obligations.
When gifting an animal, you can’t know if the recipient of the gift will not be allergic to it – will the giver take it back?
The recipient of the gift will not necessarily love the animal chosen by him/herself, but this is a torment for both the animal and the recipient of the gift.
It should be appreciated that the animal can cause damage by gnawing a shoe, a leg of sofa or even a door, making puddles or poops on the carpet, knocking down a flower or cutting off the curtains.
If the recipient of the gift likes to travel, he/she would have to worry about where to leave the animal, which can be an additional financial burden.
Acceptance of an animal into a family is a commitment to 10–15 years.
From the abundance of your comments on our Facebook and Instagram accounts, together with the competition partner VET1, we selected the winner who received the Trovet canned food set. Congratulations to Laura Abraskeviciute and her pet Bruno, who created the song “Animal is not a gift”.
You can watch the song they have composed here.
For more thoughts on why an animal can’t be a gift, see here:
– https://bit.ly/GGI-Gyvunas-Ne-Dovana-FB
– https://bit.ly/GGI-Gyvunas-Ne-Dovana-IG
Since animals are given not only on the occasion of winter holidays, but also throughout the year, we invite you to continue to help us spread this message that the animal is not a gift.