Christmas is coming up, and people’s desire to come up with the perfect gift for their loved ones is a top priority. More and more people see giving pets as presents an exciting gift that keeps on giving. However, this increasingly popular practice comes with a number of warnings from various animal charities, such as the British organisation Dogs Trust who regularly promotes the slogan ‘A dog is for life, not just for Christmas’.
Dogs Trust
Dogs Trust is the UK’s largest dog welfare charity and has branches in other countries, like Ireland. The organisation’s primary objective is to protect all dogs from mistreatment, cruelty and suffering. Moreover, it focuses on the rehabilitation and rehoming of dogs that have been either abandoned or given up by their owners. Indeed, on their website, people who want to adopt a dog can find numerous dogs in need of a new loving home. The charity annually spends time urging the public to avoid buying or giving dogs as presents for Christmas and has created several TV adverts for this purpose “A dog is for life, not just for Christmas”.
‘A dog is for life, not just for Christmas’
One such ad by Dogs Trust’s from 2019 features a little animated dog made of cork that arrives on Christmas day. While the puppy initially receives plenty of attention during the festivities, it is then thrown away without a second thought as the family clears up the Christmas wrappings and decorations, etc. The cork dog turns into a real dog as it shown in an abandoned cardboard box of Christmas rubbish the following day. Fortunately, someone rescues the dog and brings them to a local Dogs Trust branch.
Think before you buy or adopt
This ad and other campaigns like it are a great way for animal charities to get the message across that purchasing or adopting a dog or any other animal should never be done on a whim for yourself or your family, or as a surprise from someone else if you are not sure that they have the time, the means or the desire to care for a living being. Dogs are not just a gift that can be thrown away with the rubbish and the leftovers from end of year celebrations.
They really are a lifetime commitment.
