Picture this idyllic scene. The children are in their flannel pajamas, the fire is crackling away and the tree is lush and green and stood ablaze with hundreds of crystalline lights. There is a small mountain of presents under the tree and the parents are laughing, taking pictures. All things are merry and bright.
All of a sudden, an eruption of giddy screams and joyful delight. The children have been presented with a puppy. A golden Labrador puppy. Things couldn’t be more perfect for this family.
In reality though, Christmastime is an incredibly stressful time for a little puppy – being taken away from its siblings and its mother itself is very hard, on top of that a bunch of hustle and bustle, strange lights, sounds and people makes it very difficult for the puppy to settle and they may be very frightened. Many families are taken away at the thought of buying their children a puppy for Christmas, but unfortunately not many seem to think about their puppy growing into a large dog, and then living with them for 10+ years. According to some statistics, there is a huge surge of abandonment of domestic animals in January – February (right after Christmas) because families don’t realize the financial, emotional and social impact of owning an animal.
Animals are living, breathing creatures – not just merchandise that you can give a gift receipt with and hope for the best. Furthermore, many families do not research the type of care and time that needs to go into nurturing a puppy into an adult dog – think about it, would you leave a baby on its own after it has been taken away from its mother?
It seems as if, after the Christmas holidays and emotions are all over, and everyone goes back to work and school, many pets are left alone at home. This leads to very serious behavioral issues with animals – especially young puppies and kittens, who need to develop their social behaviors. This abandonment of animals at home causes them to have issues such as aggression – which then leads to them being removed from the family, as if they are damaged goods. It is infuriating because more often than not, it is not the animal’s fault that they are lashing out, it is the owner’s.
Furthermore, many families seem to prefer getting their animals from a breeder. Which, I personally feel is wrong because there are SO MANY adorable animals at shelters and adoption agencies just waiting for a new home and family to love. It is extremely unfortunate that many animals pass away waiting for new homes and families will pay up to $2000 on a “purebred” puppy.
Perhaps instead of placing a puppy or a kitten under the tree, you could place pet-related things instead, such as a collar or a food bowl. This will get the children equally as excited as they will know that the process of them getting a pet has started and they will be adopting a new family member very soon!
Image Source(s):
http://www.rantpets.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/santaandpuppy.jpg