Watch: ‘A Pet Is For Life’ – MSPCA’s Emotional New Video Has An Important Message For Christmas
Christmas is right around the corner and while this can be a great time for many, it can also lead to impulsive shopping and bad decisions, like gifting a pet without really thinking of the real long-term commitment that a domesticated animal is.
MSPCA tends to pay for the brunt of this mistake with animal shelters receiving a disproportionate increase of requests to take in surrendered pets around the Christmas holidays.
“The first wave of puppies is usually the ones that unscrupulous breeders didn’t sell as they expected to during this period of high demand for puppies, and are often found unattended and abandoned during December,” MSPCA explained while reminding shoppers that animals are “not suitable for gifting.”
“The second wave of puppies comes when people who bought or received a puppy as a gift over the holidays start living with those decisions and find they cannot cope. This is the result of impulse-buying and sadly it superficially drives up demand for a short period, enough to encourage breeding for some quick money by some.”
“Impulse-buying bypasses all the research and matching efforts that should go into getting a puppy. From incompatible temperaments to incompatible veterinary and grooming needs, the lack of research stacks the odds against the pet-person relationship succeeding. So much can and does go wrong when people get a puppy on a whim or are given a puppy they didn’t choose for themselves. The same goes for kittens.” Animal Welfare Outreach Officer at MSPCA Christian Pace said.
“The MSPCA is appealing for people to avoid buying puppies and kittens during the festive season or giving pets as gifts for the holidays through its Christmas advert. Shrinking demand for puppies is the best way to deter this yearly surge in exploitation and abandonment.”
If you’re interested in helping the MSPCA save an animal’s life, consider a Christmas sponsorship by pressing here or using BOV quick pay on 79530468.
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