What's it like running a rescue?
I imagine people get animals as presents which is incredibly irresponsible if you have not thoroughly researched prior to animal adoptions.Just curious, why is there a spike in rats getting dumped and surrendered at this time of year?
It is definitely a challenge when animals are seen as entertainment more than a living creature that is under your care. It is not uncommon, I don't think.I was suspecting that the irresponsible animal gifting was a part of it. I really hope no one in my life is ever ignorant enough to put me in the crappy position of giving me an unexpected, unwanted animal as a gift. I've been told since childhood that you should never, ever give anyone a live animal as a gift--but I imagine it's ok if you expressly knew it was what the person wanted and like you said it was thoroughly researched. (Like, I'm thinking about giving my partner fish, but he will be the one picking them out.) Sadly, the world is probably still full of people who think it's okay to "surprise" someone with, say, a puppy as a gift (a fast track to the animal shelter).
The thought of people getting rid of animals because they're hoping to get a different kind of animal is just so sad (safety issues aside). To me, it's as sad as the people who are like, "We're thinking of having a baby, so it's time to get rid of all the pets."