Many people think gifting someone their dream puppy or kitten for Christmas is a good gift, which may be true; however, it’s also a gift that keeps on giving and it comes with a lot of responsibility. It’s important to think about the lifelong commitment that pets are.
According to the Great Falls Animal Shelter, there is sometimes an uptick in cats and dogs that are surrendered in January, some of which may have been holiday gifts that became too big of a responsibility.
“You want to keep in mind that there are lots of other things that go along with having an animal besides just having a loving pet in your home, so things you want to think about is the amount of responsibility it takes,” said Laramie Smovir, office manager of the Great Falls Animal Shelter. “For a dog, they're going to need to go outside and go potty, you're going to need to clean up after them, you're going to need to feed them, do all those sorts of things. For cats, cleaning the litter box.”
The Great Falls Animal Shelter recommends gifting a free adoption certificate, instead of the animal itself. That ensures the individual can choose an animal that fits their lifestyle best.
Smovir added, “There is a huge expense that comes with animals, just with feeding them, but also the things that people don't think about are like the vet costs that come along with that.”
Click here to see the current list of adoptable pets.
The Great Falls Animal Shelter is at 1010 25th Avenue NE. For more information, call 406-454-2276, or click here to visit the website.
