Home Before the Holidays

Traditional thinking discourages people from getting a dog or cat during the holiday season, and it also recommends against holding pet adoption fairs for the holidays. In the interest of saving animals’ lives, it is time to break with tradition and get as many abandoned animals into loving Homes Before the Holidays as possible.

According to Michael Arms, President of Helen Woodward Animal Center, “In the past many shelters discouraged families from adopting during the holidays to avoid impulse decisions. But it’s time to face the facts. More families invite pets into their homes during the holidays than any other time of year. If shelters turn these families away, we may as well send them to a pet shop or puppy mill.” Michael went on to point out that pet stores want to make a sale while shelters want to make the right match with the person’s lifestyle because getting a companion animal is a lifetime commitment.

I worked at the San Francisco SPCA during the first years of the Gumps Holiday Windows where lavish displays were built to feature kittens and puppies for adoption from Thanksgiving until Christmas. At first we were concerned about impulse adoptions and increased returns after the New Year. Happily we learned that adoption returns were not increased. Although it is no longer at Gumps, the San Francisco SPCA will continue their 16-year tradition of holiday adoption windows again this year.

Pets In Need will be launching our own Home Before the Holidays adoption campaign on December 5th, 6th and 7th inside Bloomingdale’s at the Stanford Shopping Center. You will find us at the Quarry Road Entrance. Of course, we will also have a selection of loving dogs and cats at the shelter waiting for us to find them a Home Before the Holidays.

If you are going to have a quiet holiday at home, perhaps it is time for you to consider adding a dog or cat to your life. You will need to keep your new best friend safe from ingesting decorations or biting an electrical wire. You’ll also want to prevent your pet from overeating or getting into a box of chocolates. If you can do this, and you are ready to add a furry family member, visit Pets In Need and help us find more good homes for our shelter guests than ever before.

If you want to give someone special a loving dog or cat, we have Gift Certificates. The lucky recipient of the Gift Certificate will get to visit with our shelter guests as often as it takes them to fall in love with their new best friend. They will be asked to fill out our adoption application and they must be a match for that animal.

Michael Arms summed it up when he said, “What better gift can any of us give during the Holiday Season than to save the life of an orphaned animal?”

 
Founded in 1965, Pets In Need receives no federal, state or local government support.

Published in the San Mateo County Times, December 7, 2002