One of the most meaningful gift anyone can give a Christmas would be the gift of a pet. It is a gift not to be taken lightly. Maybe your daughter is begging you for a dog or your son is a deviation when taking care of a pet would teach him some valuable lessons. Maybe you been thinking about adding a new pet to the family. Here in the studio to talk about the past about that's possibility is Jennifer. Thank you for joining us. I have heard some heartwarming stories and some heartbreaking stories about people gifting pets for Christmas. What is the best way to make sure that if you give a pet it will be heartwarming. We want all of the adoptions to be heartwarming. One of the best ways is to discuss it with the family or friends that you're considering giving up at two. Make sure they are prepared for that long-term commitment of a pet. So on the kinds of things you need to consider, I like what quick The time it takes to care for an animal and prepare the love that you want to provide to that animal. Everyone tends to work long hours so making sure that the animal, especially if it's a dog, they are able to get outside and use the bathroom and that they can get the exercise that they need to There really is not a breed of dog that does it need to be walked every day. Correct. One of the most popular quick Certainly kittens, adult cats, puppies, who doesn't love the idea of a puppy under a Christmas tree. Adult dogs. We have Rapids in guinea pigs and even livestock like chickens and roosters. Which is legal as long as they don't crow in the middle of the night. We definitely recommend everybody find out the local ordinances. And also finding out if your landlord will allow you to have a pet if you are renting. There may be restrictions on breed's light -- breed or size as well. What about the element of surprise? Do you recommend talking to the person before hand and leaving it as a surprise quick We recommend talking to the individual beforehand. One of the great things we have is that we actually provide gift certificates is time of year. We see a 25% increase in the number of gift certificates we sell and those could go toward the adoption of an animal. Having that under the tree and providing that as a birthday gift or any other surprise gift that you would like to provide to a family member or friend. You can make it a group effort to come down to the San Diego Humane Society and identify the animal you want to take home the I like that idea. So is a surprise to get the gift certificate but the recipient still has to say. Absolutely. It is a fun event to have it to go into the Humane Society and selecting animal. Often times the animals call out to us as well. That's true..Certainly my experience with my parents anyone to give them the chance to make that connection. What kind of numbers have you seen in terms of adoptions this last year quick This last year we had just under 16,000 adoptions. We see about 18,000 desk companion animals and then another 10,000 wild animals. You name it. The native wildlife year in San Diego. Egrets, raccoons, old possums, squirrels,. These are Ratamosa taking care of. These are not -- these are animals you are taking care of. These are animals that are sick, abandoned, and they come to our project wildlife Department and the Wiebe rehabilitate them and then release them back out to the wild West they are either of age or health to do so. Is this a time of year when you get people adopting more pets than usual quick On average, we have about 200 to 250 animals adopted per week. During the holiday season, the week before Christmas and the week after Christmas, we do see a bit of a Spike. We are hoping during our whisker wonderland we will let.350+ animals in that one big time.. Tell us about the whiskers in Wonderland program. It's an adoption promotion that will be running December 16 through December 24. That is primarily an outlawed for us to place the animals that are available for adoption into loving homes for the holiday season. One of the neat things about that is that we've had a very generous donor come forward and has decided to sponsor the adoption fees of all of the animals will talk to it that -- adopted in that.. If you want to give the gift certificate, you could wait until there's a bigger selection. Cats are seasonal breeders. They reproduce primarily in the spring and summer. We have a lot of kittens available for adoption. Really between the months of April through about the end of October and beginning of November, we still have a few kittens available. A lot less than what we have had in Pryor months. So the gift certificate you were talking about does not have to be used right away. The great thing about the gift certificate is that there is no expiration date. If you think it's a good idea and you think the one of finding the right animal, they can take their time or if they have a life-changing they want to wait a few more months or even up to a year or longer, they can do so.
Planning to surprise someone with a puppy under the Christmas tree? The San Diego Humane Society believes it has a better, if less exciting option for those who want to give pets as gifts this holiday.
The Humane Society is selling gift certificates to cover the cost of adopting a pet. The organization said this program is meant to lessen the negative ramifications of giving a pet as a gift.
In 2015, the Humane Society adopted 347 animals the week before Christmas, which is double that of a normal week. Humane Society Chief Operating Officer Jennifer Brehler, said the organization is hoping to beat that number this year.
Brehler said the gift certificate, which doesn't expire, gives the recipient time to research the type, breed and age of the animal they want to adopt, as well as time to prepare their home.
The Humane Society fosters more than just cats and dogs. It also has rabbits, guinea pigs, rats, birds, goats, pot-bellied pigs and horses up for adoption, Brehler said.
The gift certificates range from $25 to $195. Brehler said most cat adoptions are on the lower end of that range while puppy adoptions are more expensive.
On Tuesday's Midday Edition, Brehler talks about gifting a pet.
