“Pets are more than gifts”

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (KY3) – The holiday season is one of the busiest times of the year for pet adoptions, but it’s also coming back.

The Humane Society of Southwest Missouri says it is seeing a slight increase in adoptions ahead of the New Year.

“Unfortunately, we have seen a slight increase in surrenders,” said Erin Hession of the Humane Society.

The Humane Society plans to have 3,000 admissions this year. Hession says that during the peak of the pandemic last year, many chose to adopt a pet. But now they realize that they couldn’t handle the engagement.

“We have seen an increase in our returns and adoptions have increased over the past year,” Hession said. “We saw a slight increase in our returns because people were going back to work, people were going back to school and they didn’t have time to give the animal what they needed.”

As the holidays approach, it is an important reminder that giving an animal as a gift should be carefully considered, because it is more than just a gift.

“Don’t adopt for someone, a puppy, a kitten, a dog, a cat, as a Christmas present,” Hession said. “It’s not just a gift, it’s something you have to be prepared to spend the next 15 years.”

The Humane Society has a thorough adoption process to ensure applicants are reliable and well-suited.

“Returns, mistakes or surrenders, we had a lot of surrenders this year, a lot more than normal,” Hession. “Surrender is something, if they own it, they can no longer take care of it or have no space or the living conditions have changed. If they come back, they bring them here and drop them off for us.

KY3 spoke to a family who recently completed an adoption application for a kitten.

“We didn’t really necessarily think of it as a vacation, as a gift or anything,” said adopter Rachel Predmore. “We’ve been thinking about this for some time and are ready to go. “

For those who wish to adopt before the holidays, there might be some special offers.

“Right now we’re running a special pet deal, half the price on all of our black or mostly dark colored pets because they’re less likely to be adopted,” Hession said. “We also have a 50% discount on all our seniors. “

To report a correction or typo, please send an email digitalnews@ky3.com

Copyright 2021 KY3. All rights reserved.