Figures from Australia’s most visited charity website – PetRescue – show that pet adoptions rise by as much as 25 per cent over the summer months, leading the organisation to question the traditionally held view that Christmas is not a good time to welcome a new pet, and instead encourage well considered adoptions of rescue animals.
The charity’s data shows that there were 15,630 pets adopted from the popular website during 1 June 2018 – 31 August 2018, whilst there were 19,443 adoptions over the summer period last year, from the 1 December 2018 – 28 February 2019 – an increase of 24 per cent.
Co-founder of PetRescue, Vickie Davy, says whilst the term ‘a pet is for life, not just for Christmas’ was well known, there were actually many good reasons why the Christmas period and summer generally was a great time to welcome a rescue pet into your home.
“For people who have been considering adopting a pet for a while and have really thought it through, Christmas and the summer holiday period can be a great time to welcome a new four-legged friend into the family, with people taking time off work and children also being on holiday,” says Ms Davy.
“In many ways the summer holidays can be the absolute best time given family members have more time to bond with their new pet, they can give them lots of time to adjust to their new environment and they can also start to shape their new routine.
“Summer also brings with it kitten season which means there are lots of feline friends to choose from on PetRescue and there’s also time to spend settling the new addition into the household. And that’s obviously the same for people adopting puppies and adult dogs too, as there’s also time to work on toilet training and basic manners, and even attend puppy school or group training classes.
“And whilst PetRescue certainly supports the view that a pet should never be bought on impulse, or as a surprise Christmas gift, we very much support animal lovers who are dedicated to adopting a rescue pet and giving it a second chance at a happy life over the festive season.”
Ms Davy advised anyone thinking about adopting a pet over summer to think about what kind of a pet they wanted to welcome into the family, including its size, how much time they had to exercise it, understanding the true financial costs involved, including food, veterinary bills and potential boarding costs, in addition to ensuring that all members of the family wanted to welcome the new addition.
“Once you’ve decided on the kind of pet you would like to adopt and all family members are on board with the decision, why not start by looking up all the rescue animals looking for love this summer on the PetRescue website,” she says.
To view the rescue animals currently available for adoption, go to www.petrescue.com.au
