- 20 percent of pet owners regret the purchase.
- A dog costs around 1,200 euros per year,
a cat 800 euros – without purchase costs. - Animal shelters are overcrowded and are bursting at the seams after the holidays.
- Better: show love for animals through sponsorships.
Hamburg. During the Christmas season, everyone asks themselves – what can I give as a gift for the holidays? Especially for children, getting a pet is at the top of their wish list. Giving away a living creature is never a good idea, and a new family member has no place under the Christmas tree.
Keeping pets is very trendy. In Germany, the number of animal residents has almost doubled over the past ten years. In 45 percent of all households, around 34.3 million animals meow, bark and chirp. The popularity scale is topped by 15.7 million cats, followed by 10.5 million dogs, 4.6 million small animals, 3.5 million birds, followed by over 2.5 million terrariums and aquariums. Every year, pet owners spend tens of billions of dollars on food, supplies and veterinary care. Pets were particularly popular during the Corona period, but around 20 percent of pet owners now say that they regret buying a pet. (Source: German Animal Welfare Association)
“A pet is a family member for which humans take responsibility. And usually for many years. With good care, a cat can live to be 17 years old and older, dogs can live for 14 to 16 years and rabbits and guinea pigs can also live to be 12 years old or older,” explains Frank Weber, head of the Franziskus animal shelter in Hamburg. “This is often underestimated. In addition, there are the costs for accessories, food, veterinary care and, for dogs, taxes. Over time, quite a bit of money comes into being, which is often massively underestimated. The cost of purchasing the animal is the smallest amount. “This has to be carefully considered and calculated,” explains the animal shelter manager. A dog costs around 1,200 euros a year, which comes to around 16,800 euros over the dog's entire life – cats are slightly cheaper. “Children's interest in pets wanes when they reach puberty – getting a pet shouldn't be a spontaneous decision, it has to be carefully considered.”
A large proportion of pets are bought and sold online. If you enter dog or cat, you will immediately come across online sales portals. You can find several thousand offers there around the clock, many of which are dubious. “This huge offer is frightening; the animals are being sold like furnishings at high prices. People rarely ask what conditions they need for a species-appropriate life,” says Weber. “This really encourages people to make impulse purchases. After Christmas the 'cat misery' sets in. If the animals are still small and cute, they are immediately resold on the Internet. A sad spiral sets in; we regularly deal with behaviorally suspicious and sick animals that have already had 5 or 6 previous owners. There is a placement stop at the animal shelter a few days before the festival. You are welcome to come to the animal shelter and get advice. However, the animals will only be handed over to their new owners after the holidays. Then the hustle and bustle around the Christmas tree has died down and the animal can settle in in peace and without holiday stress. “You can then place accessories such as baskets, toys and the like under the tree. Then the anticipation of the new family member moving in is even greater.”
Due to the doubling of pets, the booming trade and the lack of information about the needs of the animals, the animal shelters are overcrowded and no more animals can be taken in there. “If you have problems with the animal, you can’t just hand it over to the animal shelter. These times are finally over,” explains the animal shelter manager and presenter of the VOX program “Dog Cat Mouse”. That's why it's even more important to be clear about your responsibility. The same applies here – in good times and in bad times. It is better to avoid purchasing an animal altogether, at least until the conditions for it are met. Animals are not gifts and have no place under the Christmas tree.
An alternative to an animal is an animal sponsorship – she looks good under the Christmas tree. If you want, you can get a certificate for animal sponsorship on site. With an animal sponsorship of 55 euros, a lot can be achieved, especially for four-legged friends who cannot easily find a new family. The sponsors give the animals support, care and care for a whole year.
About the Franciscan Animal Shelter
The concept of the Franziskus Animal Shelter is based on the idea that an animal shelter should be a meeting place for people who love animals. When designing the animal shelter, particular attention was paid to making the rooms as bright, friendly and attractive as possible. All cat rooms have outdoor areas connected to them, which allow the animals to make themselves comfortable in the sun. An essential part of the concept is the Pfötchencafé, which is located in the immediate vicinity of the outdoor cat aviaries, the tortoise enclosure and the wildlife station. Smaller events around the topic of “animals” take place here, visitors to the animal shelter can make themselves comfortable, and regular meetings of volunteers and employees take place there. Thanks to the support of the many volunteers, each animal can be cared for individually, and the dogs housed in the Franziskus animal shelter are walked for up to three hours every day.