Officials Urge Caution in Giving Pets as Gifts
If you’re thinking of getting someone a pet as a holiday gift, think again, according to officials with the city of Los Angeles Animal Services.
They instead recommend a gift certificate that allows the receiver to select his or her own companion.
“A lot of people get pets for Christmas and it’s the wrong pet, so they end up at the animal shelter,” said Animal Services spokeswoman Jackie David. “It can be something as simple as size, or does the person have enough time to care for the animal.”
David said that the number of pets, especially dogs, brought to the animal shelters always increases around the holidays.
“People come in and say, ‘I don’t know what to do with it,’ ” David said. “In a lot of cases it was a little puppy in a stocking that was so cute, but it became a very large animal in a few months.”
David added that many of the dogs also end up on the streets, contributing to the city’s burgeoning number of strays.
Pet gift certificates can be purchased at any of the six city animal shelters. For more information, call (888) 452-7381.
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