The holidays are a busy time for animal shelters with people coming to adopt animals as Christmas gifts.
What some people may not know is that there is a second wave of shelter visitors and phone calls that begin as early as the first of the year.
At this point, many families have gotten a chance to spend some quality time with their newly adopted companion.
For some, a bond was made in those few weeks, and that companion found its fur-ever home.
For others the happy feeling of a new pet has worn off, and they’ve realized that adopting a new pet is not as easy as it sounds.
In an interview with CBS 4, Connie Swaim with IndyHumane said that her call volume has already started to increase and will continue to increase in the coming weeks.
Though many of these Christmas adoptions work out, some are not so lucky.
This is what new pet owners need to understand. There is almost always a solution to any problem you are having. It might not be cheap, and it might not be easy, but you owe it to this animal to try and make it work.
When these furry friends are brought home and the holiday cheer has worn off, their owners may find it easier to take them back rather than deal with the issues that arise.
I was in the same position when I adopted my kitten Sadie from the Bloomington shelter last year.
When I adopted Sadie, I had no idea she was sick. Every night she would cry until I got out of bed to hold her. I tried everything, but some nights I just wanted to rip my hair out.
I would be lying if I said the thought of taking her back to the shelter didn’t cross my mind during those sleepless nights.
Thankfully, after multiple trips to the vet’s office, six doses of medicine, 10 packages of special diet food and months of care, the crying stopped.
This wasn’t the cheapest solution. This wasn’t the easiest solution, but I did everything in my power to keep her with me.
“The best long-term outcome for most pets is if the owner will keep it and work on that behavior issue,” Swaim said.
She tries to reassure families that keeping their pet in their home is better than taking it back to the shelter.
This is not to say that you should keep an animal regardless of the circumstances.
You should recognize, and most shelters will understand, that sometimes it simply isn’t the right fit.
If this is the case, it might be in the animal’s best interest for the family to return it to the shelter.
If you have already adopted an animal, do everything you can to make it a part of your home.
If you have tried everything you can, and it’s still not working out, do your best to find that animal a loving fur-ever home with someone else.
You can avoid all of this by understanding the commitment that you make to these animals when you adopt them and making sure that when you adopt, you are ready to add another member to your family not just a gift under the tree.
kkmeier@umail.iu.edu
