When shopping for loved ones during the holidays, you may think that surprising them with the love of a new cat or dog will add nothing but joy to their lives.
According to the experts, this may not necessarily be the case.
“I would never recommend gifting a pet for the holidays,” said Lauren Anderson, contract manager at Fort Campbell’s stray animal facility. “A pet is a lifetime commitment and only someone who wants to keep a pet forever should be the one adopting it.”
Anderson said when it comes to increasing the size of your Family, communication is key.
“If you want to get [a pet] for a loved one, I always recommend to talk it over with the whole Family,” Anderson said. “Make sure the whole Family is ready to commit to this pet.”
Captain Rachel Lovell, a veterinary service officer at the Fort Campbell veterinary center, said there is more to consider than the initial excitement.
“[Gifting a pet] should definitely not be an impulsive decision; because it is a 10-15 year commitment you’re signing up for,” Lovell said. “Especially since a lot of the gifts are puppies. Puppies take a lot of work. They’re super cute, but you have to be financially ready for it because vaccines will be a couple hundred dollars in the first year alone. Just make sure … it’s something everyone in the house is on board with [and] you have the financial ability to care for that animal.”
Investigate the facts
If everyone in the house has agreed it is time to add fur to the Family, experts say to do your homework first.
“I would always recommend to research the breed,” Anderson said. “For example, people love huskies, but people don’t realize they shed like crazy. They require a lot of attention and a lot of stimulation to keep them from destroying things in the house. So it is always important to research what you’re getting into. Talk to other pet owners, ask if they have any problems, things like that.”
Lovell said to consider all members of the Family while you shop around.
“[Prospective pet owners] definitely should do some research,” Lovell said. “If they have children, maybe look into … a smaller breed that’s easier to handle. If they’re getting a rescue [animal], you just want to make sure it’s an animal that doesn’t have a huge prey drive, especially if they have kids.”
If you already have pets, Lovell said to consider their feelings as well.
“If they already have an animal, do an introduction before bringing the animal into the house,” Lovell said. “Sometimes you think your dog’s really friendly, but sometimes the dogs don’t speak the same language. Always doing a visit outside the house first before you adopt an animal can help mitigate problems in the future.”
Anderson advises even with the best research, you may not be able to predict the temperament of a new Family member.
“Sometimes it’s just luck of the draw,” Anderson said. “Sometimes you’ll get a dog that’s perfectly well behaved, sometimes you’ll get a dog that has a little bit of separation anxiety. There’s always ways to work with it, though, and we’re always here to help people and offer advice.”
Lovell emphasizes animals require attention.
“Other than the fact you can leave it in a cage and go out for the day, it’s very similar to having a toddler,” Lovell said. “It definitely requires a lot of patience, a lot of watching and caring. [They] want to get into everything and you need to watch everything they put into their mouth and everything they stick their paws on.”
For those who may not have the ability to devote so much time to a new addition to their Family, Anderson said to consider a cat.
“Cats are pretty easy for the most part,” Anderson said. “They take care of themselves.”
Prepare yourselves
Once you find the right fit for your Family, experts have advice for before you bring the pets home.
“If they’re not planning on breeding, which if they live on post, they can’t, I definitely recommend [pet owners spay or neuter their pets],” Lovell said. “It definitely helps with the behavior, and you won’t get any unwanted puppies that cause extra problems.”
Anderson said having your pet spayed or neutered is required if you adopt from Fort Campbell’s stray animal facility.
All of these services are available at the Fort Campbell veterinary center.
“Anybody can adopt,” Anderson said. “The adoption fee for cats is $65, for dogs is $75. The adoption paperwork is fairly simple. The whole process probably takes about five minutes.”
Adopting from the stray animal facility helps find loving homes for animals in need.
“We have a euthanasia rate of less than 3 percent,” Anderson said. “Our staff works really hard to make sure all our animals get adopted or into rescue in a timely fashion.”
Welcome them home
Once your new furry friend is home, you will want to integrate it into the Family. Just like children, experts say that education is key.
“We have a list of a couple of trainers in the Fort Campbell area if people are interested,” Lovell said. “PetSmart and PetCo have some good general puppy classes as well.”
Lovell said education for the pet owner also is necessary to avoid trips to the vet.
“Chocolate is toxic to dogs,” Lovell said. “We also have a problem with them eating the wrappers, which can cause an obstruction. Grapes and raisins can also be really bad for them. The skin on turkey is pretty bad for dogs. Raw dough with yeast is really bad for them. Onions and garlic [are] especially [bad] for cats, which is in a lot of holiday cooking.” For those who are worried about animals getting sick, Lovell said there are a variety of pet insurance plans that offer military discounts.
Bringing them with you
Being in the military comes with its own set of challenges when it comes to pet ownership.
“A lot of [work is] involved, especially for a military Family because you will be moving every three years,” Lovell said. “If you do go overseas, [there] is extra money and paperwork involved with that. To go overseas, [pet owners] need a health certificate for their animals, and a lot of times that requires two rabies vaccines. It requires, depending on where they’re going, extra bloodwork that has to be sent to a lab. Some of this has to be started six months out and a lot of people don’t know that. There’s stuff that has to be done 180 days or more down the line.”
For those who are feeling overwhelmed, Lovell said there are resources to help them learn what is required.
“[Pet owners] can go to the [United States Department of Agriculture] website and look up the country they’re going to or think they might go to and it’ll tell them all the paperwork and all the steps they need to do on that website,” Lovell said. “They can also call us or they can call another veterinarian.”
The USDA website can be found at https://www.aphis.usda.gov/aphis/pet-travel.
The Fort Campbell Veterinary Center is open 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Mondays-Wednesdays and Fridays, 9 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Thursdays. It is located at 5289 Eighth Street. For more information, call 270-798-3614.
The Fort Campbell stray animal facility is open 9 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Mondays-Fridays, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturdays. It is located at 5290 8th Street. For more information, call 907-202-1036.