Christmas is coming up faster than ever and based on the chitter chatter in the office, its going to be a mad rush to the finishing line with loads of presents still to buy and all the wrapping to be done.

This time of year can be a sentimental one. Determined to spend time with family and make the season the ‘best one yet’, we sometimes make decisions based on emotion and this has a tendency to bite us in the bum as we head into January.

Today is International Animal Rights Day, and although this covers a myriad of different topics, we wanted to focus on the one we think is most relevant to this time of year.

‘A Dog is for Life – Not Just for Christmas.’

Created in 1978 by Clarissa Baldwin, the Chief Executive of The National Canine Defence League, (now known as The Dogs Trust), the idea behind it was to try and reduce the amount of impromptu and spontaneous purchases of pets around Christmas time.

The cute puppy with the red ribbon around its neck was adorable, lovable and the gift of choice for thousands of homes who hadn’t considered the reality of what they were buying. Unfortunately, as reality kicked in, thousands and thousands of dogs were being returned after Christmas leaving the rescue centres overrun with animals that had done nothing to deserve the situation they now found themselves in.

Already struggling with the costs of running – especially at the coldest months of the year, the extra unwanted animals created a huge amount of unnecessary extra strain on the rescues that could have been easily avoided, and even today, over 40 years after this campaign began, this is still a huge problem for rescues up and down the country. After all, when the Christmas excitement subsides and the novelty of a puppy wears off, the reality you are left with is so much more than a cute and cuddly stuffed animal that you can tuck away when you don’t want to play.

Between toilet training, being the official pooper scooper when you are outside walking them, having to walk them in all weather, instilling a night time routine, making sure they don’t chew your favourite Ugg boots, knowing what you can and cannot feed them and making sure they don’t eat something they shouldn’t, (dogs are a nightmare for eating everything in their way), this is the bare minimum required for having a fur baby!

Add into that the complete change in your routine. No more impromptu weekends away. No more afternoons out that turn into late nights and then early mornings. No more last minute breaks without paying through the nose for boarding, and what about work?

Whilst many of us work from home now, for those who still leave the house, what happens to your puppy when you go? Who will walk them, make sure they don’t chew through the sitting room lamp or pull apart the post as it comes through the door?

Can you afford to put them into doggy day care and how will you then socialise them if you don’t?

Do you know anything about the personality of the breed you have gone for and what to expect from it? Do you know how to train them, not just for your benefit, but for theirs as well?

Most importantly, do you have the time that your puppy needs and can you give it the love and attention that every single pet deserves?

Dog Trusts Festive Ad

In reality, Christmas is quite possibly the worst time of year to get a dog. With everything going on in the social calendar and all the chaos of the season, being able to really consider everything and assess whether you really want something that requires that level of commitment is difficult to do, if not impossible.

Why not look into volunteering at one of your local rescue centres instead whilst taking the time to really consider if having an animal is right for you, and by extension, right for them.

Many of the shelters use volunteers to walk their dogs whilst they do the rest of the day to day work, and they always need help in whatever form you are able to offer it.

As an office full of dog mums and one grandma, we would be the first ones to tell you just how amazing having these wonderful animals in your life can be. They truly do bring love, happiness and joy into every single day, but we also know just how much work it can be.

This year, if you are toying with the idea of giving a dog, or any other animal a home, please, please think long and hard about it and do your research. Don’t get swept along with the idea of it without considering the reality of what having an animal in your life means.

After all, pets are not presents and presents should not be pets.

(Animal rescues survive on the amazing charity and donations of the public, so if there is anything you can do for your local shelters this year, whether it be food or money, please help where you can.)