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It’s the holiday season, and as many times that a photo accompanying the phrase “Pets are not presents!” appears on Facebook, there’s probably that number times 50 of someone’s parent, doting relative, BFF or sweetie pie who’s deciding to surprise that someone with a new puppy, kitten, rabbit, Madagascar hissing cockroach or whatever for the holidays.
On the other hand, why not? As long as this isn’t a puppy-in-the-stocking whim, go for it. Rather than attempting to talk you out of the idea, I want to encourage you to honor this wish by helping to facilitate an adoption. This way, a cat, dog or rabbit that needs a home gets the best gift of its life, and that includes its life.
Before you head to a shelter or rescue (and a few of them are listed below), here are a few considerations:
- Don’t get the pet yourself—let the recipient and the new best buddy select each other. You can accompany the person and then pay the adoption or rescue fee. See the handy-dandy coupon at the beginning of the article.
- Does the person’s landlord allow pets?
- If the person owns a home or if the landlord’s amenable, is the home pet friendly? Do any small children living in the home know how to be gentle with animals?
- Is the person sufficiently financially secure? Besides food, there are licensing fees, inoculations and medical emergencies to consider.
- Is the person’s lifestyle suitable for the selected pet? Will he or she be gone for days for work with no one to look after the animal?
- Do not go to a pet store or Craigslist to get the pet. Pet stores feed in to animal cruelty by importing literal truckloads of puppies and sometimes kittens from overbred mothers in puppy mills (if you have doubts, maybe you’ll believe Oprah). Pets on Craigslist are pigs in a poke, and sorry about the mixed metaphor. You can Google this yourself; here’s one link.
Responsible rescues and shelters will ask appropriate questions to make sure that the pet and the owner are a good match.
“Adding a pet to a family is a deliberate decision that is best made by the future pet parent or family,” said Roberta Gottlieb, founder of Chiquita Chihuahua Rescue in Phoenix. “Adoption counselors are frequently called matchmakers because there are multiple factors to consider on both sides of the equation: the family’s and the pet’s.”
Speaking of presents, stockings with treats and every kind of green-and-red toy, bed and doggie dress imaginable bedeck pet-supply stores. According to Jimmy Kimmel (check out this video. It’s hilarious), cats and dogs don’t know it’s Christmas, and in most cases (I didn’t say all), he’s right.
“Every year, people spend millions of dollars on gifts for their pets,” Kimmel said on his show last week. “Pets don’t want gifts—they want food, they want to be petted, they want water, and maybe a nice leg to hump every once in a while. It’s not that they give you anything for Christmas [yes they do, and every damn day before and after Christmas as well}—they don’t even know it’s Christmas.”
Nonetheless, most of us are suckers for this kind of thing. Our cats all got little scratching-post cottages and those Little Pink Socks that Mooch from Mutts likes to roll around with, and my friend’s dogs got leash holders, and I bought a few things for Community Action Team’s Santa Paws (see Pet Projects). A little harmless fun. But Gottlieb gave me a terrific idea for giving where it’s really needed—instead of or addition to the cat-shaped kitty bed (they’ll sleep in yours anyway) or the ugly Christmas sweater for Fido, gift the people who put boots on the ground to rescue, spay and neuter, educate, and otherwise advocate for unfortunate pets. A few local suggestions are below. Check for IRS approved 501(c)(3) status—if you donate now, you qualify for a year-end tax deduction as well.
Applause Animal Rescue: https://www.facebook.com/applauseanimalrescue
Fix Long Beach: http://fixlongbeach.com/donate/
Food for Pets in Need: https://www.facebook.com/FeedingOutOfDevotion2Pets/info?tab=page_info
Forever Home Pet Rescue: http://www.adoptapet.com/adoption_rescue/86232.html
Friends of El Dorado Dog Park: http://www.friendsofeldoradodogpark.com/
Friends of Long Beach Animals: http://www.folba.org
Haute Dogs and Community Action Team: http://www.justinrudd.com/cat.html
Helen Sanders CatPaws: http://www.helensanderscatpaws.com/
Live Love Animal Rescue: https://www.facebook.com/LiveLoveAnimalRescue
Long Beach Animal Care Services: http://www.longbeach.gov/acs/
Long Beach Felines: http://www.longbeachfelines.org/
Long Beach Spay and Neuter Foundation: https://www.facebook.com/longbeachspayneuter
Making Biscuits Rescue: http://www.makingbiscuits.org/
spcaLA: http://www.spcala.com
Stray Cat Alliance: http://www.straycatalliance.org/
West Coast Animal Rescue and Sparky and the Gang: http://westcoastanimalrescue.org/
Zoey’s Place Pet Rescue: https://www.facebook.com/zoeysplacerescue
If I’ve left anyone out, please post it in the comments below. Happy holidays to every two-legged, three-legged, four-legged and no-legged creature, and may each of you have a warm place to curl up this year.
“Mistletoe hung from the gas brackets in all the front parlors; there was sherry and walnuts and bottled beer and crackers by the dessertspoons; and cats in their fur-abouts watched the fires….”
~ Dylan Thomas, A Child’s Christmas in Wales
Virtually Pets
You still have a couple of days left to adopt a pet from the 12 Days Adopt-a-thon produced by West Coast Animal Rescue and Long Beach Animal Care Services (ACS). Here are a few dogs and one of the cats that have been featured at the event.
ACS, Pitchford Companion Animal Village, 7700 E. Spring St. (in El Dorado Park), Long Beach
Scooby is a happy boy who was surrendered with his buddy Princess (IDA535864). He seems to get along with other dogs and really perks up when he sees them. He has a lot of life left for his 10 years and deserves a chance in a loving home for his golden years. 10 years old. Ask for ID#A535867
Love this older girl! Jane is quite spry for her age, and never stops smiling and wagging. She has plenty of years left at age 10—she needs someone to love her! Ask for ID#A527815
Stella is a playful 10-month-old brown tabby. We had a lot of fun playing with her with a cat toy and she seemed to enjoy herself as well. Ask for ID#A536273.
West Coast Animal Rescue (WeCARe), contact [email protected] or call (310) 621-1417
Skip, a longtime resident of WeCARe, came to the rescue via ACS. He is a young, active beagle mix who had escaped to the streets most likely because he wasn’t fixed. In any event he had a damaged eye and had to have his badly broken leg amputated. Skip needs a quiet home with someone that understands that he needs socializing and obedience classes. He’s a lovely dog with lots of personality.
Birdie is a Brussels Griffon mix whose owner was convinced to surrender her when he showed up at an event carrying this girl, her siblings and mom in a birdcage. She’s a young girl and from the look on her face, she’d love to be sitting on a lap or playing with toys in a forever home.
See more of these critters on ACS’s adoption site and at WeCARe’s page.
Pet Projects
Operation Santa Paws, Various Shelters December 1 – 20
Would you all be able to help collect dog and cat toys, treats, food or supplies to donate to the local animal shelters with our Operation Santa Paws program? If so, let [email protected] know the public drop-off places you’ll be hosting (names, addresses, phone numbers); we can include that on the website. Then, for the Long Beach/OC area, we’ll gather all the collected goodies on the morning of Saturday, Dec. 20 in Long Beach and distribute them all to the pets in area shelters and rescues. You can also take your collected goods directly to your favorite shelter or rescue! For more information, click here.
Low-Cost Pet Vaccination Clinics, December 20, Bixby Park, 130 Cherry Ave., Long Beach, 10–11:30AM and Marine Stadium, 5255 Paoli Way, Long Beach, 1:30 – 3:00PM.
Pet owners must be 18 years or older. All pets must be on leashes or in carriers. Only healthy and non-pregnant animals will be vaccinated. If you have a prior rabies vaccine certificate, license tag or license renewal notice for your pet, please bring it with you to the clinic. Vaccination and microchip services are provided for pets residing in any city. Licensing service is provided for residents within our jurisdiction: Long Beach, Signal Hill, Cerritos, Los Alamitos and Seal Beach. For more service information and pricing please visit Southern California Veterinary Vaccine Clinics.
West Coast Animal Rescue and Long Beach Animal C 12 Days Adopt-a-thon, Dec. 6–17, Seaport Marina Hotel next to Pat and Kyrie’s Christmas Trees on the PCH (front) side of the hotel,6400 E. PCH., Long Beach, 11AM–8PM
Join West Coast Animal Rescue for their 12 Days Adopt-a-thon at their new location this year! Long Beach Animal Rescue will be joining with some adoptable shelter dogs and cats, too! Help these organizations find great homes for these worthy critters in time for the holidays—it’s the pets who will be getting the gift!
spcaLA Foster Class, Sunday, Jan. 11, spcaLA P.D. Pitchford Companion Animal Village,7700 E. Spring St., Long Beach, 10AM – Noon
We can’t do it without you! spcaLA needs foster parents for pets of all ages and needs. We provide the supplies, and you provide the love. Submit an application and attend a foster class by applying here.