The Holidays in an Animal Shelter: a Double-edged Sword

How the holidays affect animal shelters all over the United States.

With the holidays just around the corner, shelters are beginning to prepare for holiday adoptions and donations. However, “gift” givers should consider that giving a pet as a gift should not be spontaneous decision and careful thought and consideration should be put into this decision. According to a research project conducted by the ASPCA, 86% of the pets that were given as gifts remain in that home. Although the research concluded that there is no significant relationship between receiving the pet and the likelihood of that pet remaining in the home, the ASPCA website still recommends that pets should only be given to people who are prepared to welcome a new family member into their homes. They also recommend that the pet should be obtained from a reliable source that can provide information about the pet before the adoption process is complete; shelters, rescue organizations and responsible breeders are great places to start looking for pets. Citizens for Animal Protection, CAP, is one of the many shelters in the greater Houston area that provides potential owners with as much available information as possible so owners can make informed decisions.

Bianca Burrascano, The Marketing Coordinator for CAP, agrees with the ASPCA in involving the potential owner of the pet in the decision process. Burrascano explains that pets are not gifts and that the best way to surprise someone with a pet is to get them a gift certificate for a shelter or another reliable source.

“The best thing to do is to surprise them by bringing them to the shelter to meet the pet that they want to adopt. We always want everyone in the family to feel included in making the decision on what pet to adopt and it’s always best if everyone meets that pet beforehand,” Burrascano said.

Limited intake shelters, like Citizens for Animal Protection, CAP, only take in animals if they have the capacity to care for them (LEFT); CAP has a wide availability-spectrum of pets. From recently rescued strays that are looking for rightful owners to V.I.P.s that have been in the shelter for an extended period of time (MIDDLE); Some pets are only available for adoption as bonded pairs which means that the animals are reliant on each other and can only be adopted by the same owner (RIGHT).

Puppies and kittens tend to only last a few days in the shelter since most people are looking to adopt young pets (LEFT); Reclaiming a pet after surrendering it to the shelter follows the same rigorous process as any adoption in order to assess the fit between the pet and the owner (MIDDLE); CAP strives to make the best possible match between pets and owners (RIGHT).

Most shelters in the nation host holiday events to promote adoption and welcome donations to keep the shelter running and the pets comfortable until they are able to find homes for them. Although these events encourage pet adoptions by offering reduced pet adoption fees or even waiving the adoption fee completely, the adoption process remains the same to ensure as few pets as possible are returned to the shelter.

The holiday season is ultimately a double edged sword for shelters as they also have to prepare for holiday intakes. The holidays are very stressful time of the year for many people and, according to Burrascano, some owners have to make the difficult decision to relinquish their pet to the shelter.

The combination of increased adoptions and relinquished and rescued pets is a pattern that continues in every season. This pattern unfortunately maintains most shelters at maximum capacity all year.

The information contained herein was derived from data supplied by Shelter Animals Count. Shelter Animals Count specifically disclaims all responsibility for any analysis, interpretations, conclusions and opinions contained in the information presented.

Shelters all over the nation receive an overwhelming amount of pets every year.

The information contained herein was derived from data supplied by Shelter Animals Count. Shelter Animals Count specifically disclaims all responsibility for any analysis, interpretations, conclusions and opinions contained in the information presented.

“We pretty much function at maximum capacity year round. We do try to anticipate empty kennels at the end of the day so we take in animals to fill those kennels, but if we are truly at capacity we don’t take in any more animals,” Burrascano said.

The Association of Shelter Veterinarians states that there are a variety of factors that affect shelter capacity, including appropriate housing units, staffing and number of adoptions, transfers, or other outcomes. A way the public can help relieve these shelters, other than adopting animals, is by fostering.

“We are always looking for more foster parents. We currently have about 130–135 active foster homes, which is wonderful; and, we foster about a thousand animals through our program each year but we always have more pets who need help. So please consider fostering,” Burrascano said.

Fostering a pet in need could provide potential owners an insight into the commitment of a pet; however, the decision to foster an animal should take as much time and consideration as adoption. Although fostering an animal is temporary, the commitment and responsibility to care for the pet hold the same standard as adoption.

The duality of the holiday season for shelters is undeniable, however, most shelters still welcome this season with open arms and the hopes of finding good homes for all the pets.