Okay so, as this title says, this thread is a rant.
With Christmas around the corner, many, including myself, are preparing for Christmas. Which also means many animals will be adopted and be given as gifts. I think giving a pet as a gift is okay, as long as the one receiving it has done their research, aware, and is ready. For example, a child does a ton of research from reliable sources about pet rats, and their parents, knowingly, bought her pet rats. In that situation, I strongly feel it is okay.
Unfortunately the past two weeks, I've seen a lot of people at pet stores looking at rabbits, guinea pigs, puppies, etc. for their children or partner. They wanted to "keep it a surprise" to make it all more exciting for Christmas. Some families didn't even know what to feed these animals and grabbed whatever the pamphlet PetSmart created and did their shopping that way... Which I am positive we are all aware is NOT ACCURATE AT ALL.
Even with the holiday season aside, it drives me insane when people adopt animals without doing research first! I was on Kijiji (It's like Craigslist, but many Canadians use it) looking for a few things to buy secondhand, and just for the heck of it, checked out the Pet section. Seen SEVERAL ads with the following captions...
"Bought her a week ago, but must get rid of her as I don't have time for her."
"My roommate/partner doesn't like it, so it has to go."
"Looking for a cute puppy. Must be cute, nothing ugly. Hoping for free or low price as I can't afford much."
These are just a few. In the photos, the conditions some of these animals are living in is unacceptable! I saw a photo of 2 male rats living in those tiny Hamster Crittertrail cages, the round ones if you guys know which I am talking about. That cage is WAY too small for a rat, let alone two! They're even small for hamsters, even though they're marketed for them.
I am just so frustrated to see all these people impulsively adopting pets because they're cute, or always wanted one, etc. An animal is a commitment, a commitment that is until they pass away. Of course there are certain circumstances where rehoming may be best (Sick owner, etc.), but it's always so sad pets from Christmas get rehomed or returned because they simply weren't prepared or did enough research.
Sorry, this is a long rant. I couldn't help myself.
With Christmas around the corner, many, including myself, are preparing for Christmas. Which also means many animals will be adopted and be given as gifts. I think giving a pet as a gift is okay, as long as the one receiving it has done their research, aware, and is ready. For example, a child does a ton of research from reliable sources about pet rats, and their parents, knowingly, bought her pet rats. In that situation, I strongly feel it is okay.
Unfortunately the past two weeks, I've seen a lot of people at pet stores looking at rabbits, guinea pigs, puppies, etc. for their children or partner. They wanted to "keep it a surprise" to make it all more exciting for Christmas. Some families didn't even know what to feed these animals and grabbed whatever the pamphlet PetSmart created and did their shopping that way... Which I am positive we are all aware is NOT ACCURATE AT ALL.
Even with the holiday season aside, it drives me insane when people adopt animals without doing research first! I was on Kijiji (It's like Craigslist, but many Canadians use it) looking for a few things to buy secondhand, and just for the heck of it, checked out the Pet section. Seen SEVERAL ads with the following captions...
"Bought her a week ago, but must get rid of her as I don't have time for her."
"My roommate/partner doesn't like it, so it has to go."
"Looking for a cute puppy. Must be cute, nothing ugly. Hoping for free or low price as I can't afford much."
These are just a few. In the photos, the conditions some of these animals are living in is unacceptable! I saw a photo of 2 male rats living in those tiny Hamster Crittertrail cages, the round ones if you guys know which I am talking about. That cage is WAY too small for a rat, let alone two! They're even small for hamsters, even though they're marketed for them.
I am just so frustrated to see all these people impulsively adopting pets because they're cute, or always wanted one, etc. An animal is a commitment, a commitment that is until they pass away. Of course there are certain circumstances where rehoming may be best (Sick owner, etc.), but it's always so sad pets from Christmas get rehomed or returned because they simply weren't prepared or did enough research.
Sorry, this is a long rant. I couldn't help myself.