Pros and Cons of Gifting a Pet to your child This Holiday Season

By Emma Berger

It is widely known that Queer kids are subject to increased problems with mental health for a variety of reasons. I have experienced this firsthand as a Queer teen. While working through therapy and finding tools to improve my anxiety and depression, I discovered that pets were extremely useful for improving mental health. For this reason, it may be worth getting your child that dog or cat they’ve been begging for. Here are some pros and cons of gifting pets over the holidays.

Pets are known to help with mental health. Petting and snuggling your animal can easily boost your mood. Your dog can get you up and active due to their need for exercise. As a pet owner with two dogs, I need to provide daily walks, and while it’s a huge responsibility, it gets me active and outdoors. Walking and time outdoors is associated with improved mental health, as well as adding these things in as a priority in your daily routine. In fact, simply having a pet can help build a regular routine, reducing screentime and other activities that might cause inactivity and add to mental health overload. 

However, if you’re not a dog person, any pet can give you purpose in life. You need to be there for your pets, they rely on you. Feeling that you are needed by another living being is an important aspect to improving mental health. This also helps with emotional maturity as well, because having a pet increases a child’s awareness around caring for something other than themself. Having pets improves empathy skills and creates a sense of gratification when your pet is well cared for. Another benefit to owning pets is a reduction in childhood asthma and allergies. Studies show that children raised with pets have lower autoimmune diseases overall. Better emotional, mental, and physical health should sound like a win to any parent.

While there are a ton of benefits for a family with pets, many pets are put through horrendous conditions, and it is important to choose a new pet responsibly. Buying from a pet store or from a random person online can contribute to inhumane breeding practices and therefore it is incredibly important to consider adopting from a pet shelter first and foremost. The San Diego Humane Society is constantly looking for prospective pet owners. Before I discuss the benefits of shelter adoption it is important that I discuss some of the downsides of pet ownership that lead to reduced satisfaction and add to pet shelters becoming overwhelmed.

Giving pets as gifts over the holidays has been a longtime tradition that has contributed significantly to dissatisfaction with pet ownership and shelters becoming overwhelmed, as well as poor treatment of dogs and cats that deserve quality stable home environments. Getting a pet can be a 20-year commitment to everything from sharing your bed (which has pros and cons itself and is very debatable), to monthly expenses, to annual and emergency vet visits, and sacrificing vacations. 

Be prepared to financially budget for having a pet but to also budget your time. During the pandemic, when many families were working and schooling from home, it became a trend to adopt pets. Then when people went back work and school, a new trend occurred where people were getting rid of their pandemic puppies that they no longer had time for. So be sure that you actually have the time and means to truly commit to a new pet. Also consider that this pet will likely still be yours when your child leaves home for college, and so you too need to love and bond with this new chosen family member.

Pets, especially puppies, will need training. Most people are not experienced dog trainers but can still do pretty well with consistency and basic knowledge. However, if you’re planning to get a dog, be aware that expensive obedience training could be a must for the dog that steals your heart. Don’t expect that a dog isn’t going to need training and will just be a “good” dog. It takes an average of two years before dogs, or cats, grow out of puppy or kitten stage and stop with undesirable behaviors from chewing to scratching to potty accidents. Are you prepared to deal with this in order to improve your child’s overall health?

The San Diego Humane Society is very involved in youth pet owners and offers several youth programs. Currently they also have incredibly generous adoption fees to help offset the initial cost of pet ownership. Through December 17th, the San Diego Humane Society is holding an “Empty the Shelters, Holiday Hope Event” which lowers the cost of pet adoption to $25 for adult dogs and cats. Please go to their website to browse available pets now! https://www.sdhumane.org/adopt/available-pets/

Take time to research all that the Humane Society has to offer to pet owners and prospective pet owners. It might be easier and more achievable than you think with the resources we have available. Knowing how pet adoption could influence your child and your family in such a positive way, how could you not consider it? If you think your child is ready for a challenging but fun growth experience, then discuss this with your kid before you surprise them with a puppy. Make sure to get their input, check for understanding of responsibilities, and allow them to be part of the choosing of a pet. Support them by getting them involved with the Humane Society as well!