Christmas is comming. Please don't give pets for gifts.

[SarahBeth9394]

Our latest addition to the menagerie is a pup. We got him because when my daughter was at band practice one of the moms pulled up with two pups she found on the side of the road and pawned one of them off on my daughter. Now practiced got called because there was a severe thunderstorm coming (one of the worst we've ever had) and that little pup that was too young to be away from it's momma would have died. My daughter (whom we have said no to several times in the last year) brought the pup home because she knew it would die out in the storm. Her heart was in the right place. We made ourselves afford the pup as we didn't want it to die either. But we certainly would not have went out and intentionally got another dog. He's an awesome pup. But if I ever see this woman she will get a piece of my mind for playing on my daughters fear that she had to take that pup or else. Had I been there I would have said "No Thank You. You picked them up you can take care of them". Now it's rude idiots like that lady who need to be told no surprise pets to someone else's family. I will surprise my kids any time I want to. But the op told all of us animal lovers whether we were responsible or not to not give a surprise pet at all.

 

[deb1]

Quote:
I agree.

One of my children's favorite moments is a prank that I pulled on my oldest son. I had bought a puppy home while he was at work. We all piled into the car to pick him up. When he reached the door, I pretended to be mad at him and told him to get into the back seat. He couldn't even sit up front with me like he usually did because I was so mad at him. Very quietly, he climbed into our van, only to find a puppy sitting in the back seat. He was thrilled and relieved. We all laughed. The kids have repeated that story several times as one of their fondest memories.

Okay, maybe it was a bit mean but I knew that my oldest son had a similar sense of humor to me and would find the prank funny.

 

[SarahBeth9394]

Quote:
Years ago the whole family (at the request of my mil) was looking for a little dog for hubby's grandma as hers had to be put down. I found a cute little older yorkie and took it. Something told me there was something not right about it. I bathed it and it shook but didn't whimper or growl. It was a bit snaggle toothed. So I took it to the vet and low and behold the poor dogs vocal cords were severed so it couldn't cry out in pain. It was snaggle toothed because it's jaw had been broken. The vet said it could only eat soft food because kibble would hurt it and (I can't remember why) that this poor dog was in pain, living in misery, and should be put down. I had the poor dog put down right then and there and I cried all the way home. It was the right thing to do and this vet had been my family vet for 15 years so I completely trusted her. I wasn't about to give that poor animal to hubby's grandma just so she would have to go put down another animal.

 

[deb1]

Quote:
Years ago the whole family (at the request of my mil) was looking for a little dog for hubby's grandma as hers had to be put down. I found a cute little older yorkie and took it. Something told me there was something not right about it. I bathed it and it shook but didn't whimper or growl. It was a bit snaggle toothed. So I took it to the vet and low and behold the poor dogs vocal cords were severed so it couldn't cry out in pain. It was snaggle toothed because it's jaw had been broken. The vet said it could only eat soft food because kibble would hurt it and (I can't remember why) that this poor dog was in pain, living in misery, and should be put down. I had the poor dog put down right then and there and I cried all the way home. It was the right thing to do and this vet had been my family vet for 15 years so I completely trusted her. I wasn't about to give that poor animal to hubby's grandma just so she would have to go put down another animal.

You did the right thing.

 

[SarahBeth9394]

Quote:
I had the kitten we gave our daughter in the bathroom. When we got home from picking her up I sent her to the bathroom with some excuse like pick up your dirty laundry. She opened the door and saw the kitten and just broke down with joy.

 

[teach1rusl]

Well I appreciate the message.

and the reminder at this time of year. And I think the audience is fine. I wouldn't assume that everyone on BYC is an animal lover (as someone wrote earlier), because many people view animals as purely livestock (not that I'm knocking that, I'm just saying it's not the same as being an animal lover). When I read things like chickens having to eat snow because their owners "don't have time to replace frozen water" in the mornings, I don't assume they are either animal lovers or responsible animal caretakers either one.

 

[horsejody]

We have a magic ditch in front of our house. In the spring young cats magically appear in it. They are always just about the right age to have been adorable Christmas kittens. They are always afraid. Some can be caught, vaccinated, spayed/neutered and drafted into service as barn cats. Most are too shy, and their fates are not good. People are idiots. They get kittens and puppies for Christmas and dump them in the spring. I'm sure that they were surprised to learn that they would actually have to make an effort to potty train it and that it's expensive to get them vaccinated and spayed/neutered. I guess in their small little minds that makes it OK to dump them in front of my house.

 

[SarahBeth9394]

Quote:
Just for the record I said that the overwhelming majority here were animal lovers and responsible owners. No assuming here. If someone assumed that it sure wasn't me. Even those who treat animals as livestock are raising them for a purpose and the majority do properly care for them. I know there are those that don't but around my area it isn't as common. There's cattle everywhere around here and the cowboys around here are true men who raise their cattle right.

 

[gudrin]

We have only ever given an animal as a pet once. That was my FIL's border collie, which he named Buster. He was technically a Christmas gift, but we got him in October. The farm dog had just died, and dad wanted a stock dog to guard the gates when they were doing chores. He had researched border collies for a long time. I found a breeder, and my husband, brother-in-law, soon to be sister-in-law and myself went to pick one up. I did a lot of research on how to pick a good border collie. We picked the one with the best tracking and also got to watch his father work some cattle in the field. That was awesome!

Anyway, we crated him and drove to the in-laws house. As soon as dad saw the crate, he said, "That better be a border collie!" Buster has been an institution since then. He does a good job at guarding the gates and will even round up the cattle and drive them to the barn if need be. It was a great fit. However, we knew what Dad was looking for, and did a lot of research. Dad didn't have any time to get himself a dog, so we did instead. What I mean by no time, is that he just couldn't get away from the farm. We knew he would be well cared for, and the breeder was assured of that as well.

The only other animal we're giving as a gift is this year. We're giving our daughter a fish (betta). Under the tree she'll have the bowl, some rock, food, decoration and the like. Then later, we'll go pick out a fish for her. We're traveling too much over the holidays to have it be fair to give the fish right on Christmas. It won't work well, and this way she can pick her own.

 

[Sock Puppet]

We are getting a puppy for Christmas! Our kids are asking Santa for one. So for Christmas morning they will wake up to one little cute puppy.

With that being said....

I would not normally give a pet to someone as a gift. Our dog passed away a few months back and the kids were heartbroken and have asked Santa for a new Dog. So we are getting a new dog.

Its an informed decision, made by everyone in the family.

As for spaying and neutering, I would not have a dog/cat that is not.