Pets as Gifts Can Safely Increase Holiday Adoptions

Who says shelters and rescues shouldn't adopt out pets as gifts? Not us! Based on the ASPCA's research, we're endorsing this policy as a way to save more animals' lives during winter holidays and beyond. Using a random dial method through an omnibus survey, we asked if obtaining a pet as a gift increased, decreased or had no impact on the love or attachment to the pet: 96 percent thought it either increased or had no impact, and 86 percent of the pets referred to in the study were still in the home. Read the complete study on pets as gifts here.

Policies that state pets should not be adopted as gifts are prevalent at many animal welfare organizations, likely based on the myth that animals who weren't specifically chosen by their new owners may be considered less valuable.

Keep reading for case studies, creative gifting programs and how-tos for giving it a try at your agency.

Lifesaving Benefits

Shelters report more adoptions, better community engagement and enthusiastic media attention. And the worries about a high rate of return are unfounded, since both research and the experience of participating shelters show no increased risk of relinquishment for animals received as gifts.​

Play the Webinar

Pets as Gifts remains as relevant today as when we recorded this seminal 60-minute webinar with research and examples from the field.