When-How is it OK to gift an adult with a dog?

In My Humble Opinion
1

As adorable as the YouTube videos of people receiving puppies as gifts may be, getting a dog is an enormous responsibility and a very personal decision. Under what circumstances is it really alright to choose someone else’s dog for them and spring it on them unexpectedly?

The only thing that occurs to me as a “maybe” is when it is a mutually-owned dog, and both partners have agreed they want one, thye agree on what they would like in one, and roughly agree on who will be responsible for what, then one partner moves forward as a surprise.

But aside from that, it’s hard for me to imagine.

2

I could see that or maybe if you were giving it to someone who has an SO and talking to them first. That is, working out all the logistics with the SO beforehand. I mean, down to just making sure they’ll have a day or two to run out and get food, cage, toys, vet etc. Hell, make sure they have the few hundred dollars that the new dog will cost in the first few days/weeks.

The only other way I can see springing a dog on a person is if you know them really well and you know that they’re really in the right place to get one but they just haven’t been able to pull the trigger yet. But even then it might be best to tell them that you’ve already paid for one and you want them to come and pick it out this afternoon/tomorrow/next weekend. Just to give it a little bit of time to sink in.

3

I don’t know. I guess some people would like to be given a dog, but I want to pick my dogs out myself. I would be thrilled if someone was like, hey, let’s go down to the shelter/rescue and pick out a dog, and I’ll pay the adoption fee. That would be a good gift.

4

I don’t think one should gift somebody with responsibility ever.

5

Never

6

This. It’s the gift that keeps on taking.

If an adult wants a dog and is ready to commit to varying for a dog, it is not hard to get a dog.

7

I could see surprising someone who I know very well (such as an SO or family member) who had been looking for a dog with a puppy from their dream breed.

8

That’s one, definitely.

Also, I know of a situation where someone whose dog had died, and who had been saying for months that it would very soon be time for another dog in his life, was given a dog by his grown children. And it worked out wonderfully.

But in most cases, pets do not make good gifts.

9

The circumstances where this would be a good idea are so rare as to be virtually non-existent.

10

I agree with everyone else, its usually always a bad idea to give pets as gifts. Every rescue group I’ve been involved with would refuse to allow one of our critters to be adopted with the intention of giving it as a gift.

We would, however, sell certificates to be given to someone as a gift. That allows the recipient to choose the perfect pet personally.

11

I once gave a corgi that I owned to my sister. My older dog bullied her and I preferred him anyway. My sister was looking for a dog for her family so I offered her Ruby on a one-week trial basis. It was a great match and she happily lived out the remainder of her life with my sister’s family.

I’d never surprise-gift anyone with a dog. Maybe sea monkeys.

<thread hijack!>

Executive Sea Monkeys for Grown-ups!
</thread hijack>

12

It’s okay to gift a dog if that means you pay for the purchase. But that purchase should be made with the approval of the recipient.

Lisa, owner of two gifted dogs. While I grew to love them both, I didn’t like to be surprised by such a gift. Puppies especially require a lot of work, including having to leave work to let them out. That requires planning.

13

My aunt, or maybe her aunts, got my grandmother a small dog. She was very happy with it. She was elderly, and couldn’t really go to pick one out, I think. I wasn’t involved, so I don’t know the details.

I could see buying a dog for your kids, as a surprise, but that’s probably not really the same thing.

In general, though, you’d have to know someone really well, and they’d have to be the sort of person who would like it, and not the sort of person who wanted to pick out their own dog. Pretty rare.

14

On Korean New Year… :slight_smile:

15

In 1997, after my dear departed wife was diagnosed with CML, our best friends showed up at the door with a tiny Miniature Pinscher. I was not informed of the decision to gift my wife with a companion animal. But, what could I say? At least it wasn’t a Chihuahua (no offense to any Chihuahua lovers out there, but that dang Taco Bell commercial irritated me for some odd reason), so I didn’t make a fuss.

That little girl became as attached to my wife as if we had a new infant. She slept with us, watched TV with us, went on trips with us. A finer companion you could not imagine.

So, that turned out well, but it was a one in a million kind of thing.

16

Only if you know that person wants an animal, or if it’s your spouse or your kid, since technically it would be for you too. (That’s happened a few times in my life – Buffy and Gypsy were a birthday gift)

How many times do you hear about “Easter bunnies” being dumped because parents think it would be a cute Easter present? I think it’s the same with puppies/dogs. They usually end up at the shelters, which are already over run.

I wish people would realize that animals aren’t just toys.

17

It’s fine if it’s known the adult wants a dog. I got one as a Christmas present in 2000- had to put him down in 2012. That’s a good run, and at the time, that dog was just what I and my cat needed.

18

BTW this goes for cats, too.

A co-worker, J, had to put her beloved kitty down and, of course, was very sad. So another co-worker, R, who was a cat aficionado, decided to cheer her up by getting her another cat. She threw a party for J “to cheer her up.” She had wrapped up a bunch of gifts (cages, cat food, cat toys, etc) in preparation for the final surprise – a kitten!

Now, keep in mind that the vast majority of us agreed that this was NOT a good idea, especially since J is kind of a curmudgeon. She has no qualms telling people exactly how she feels. And we expressed our reservations to R and each other. But, R was so enthusiastic about the idea and was certain that J would be delighted, that we went along with her.

I didn’t make the shower, but I was told that while she was opening each gift, she repeatedly said, “You guys had better not be getting me a damn cat.”

And, of course, we did! She was definitely surprised and did reportedly act gracious when she finally got the kitten. But it clearly wasn’t the best idea in the world, no matter that R’s heart was in the right place.

FYI, J and her kitty had a lot of trouble bonding. R didn’t just go to the pound, but instead got her from the breeder she used from another state. It’s some exotic variety of cat, and R is crazy about them. Sadly, while the cats are really beautiful, they’re not known for their affection. And J needed an affectionate cat.

Since getting her “gift,” whenever anyone asks J about her cat, she’ll relay what a standoffish bitch the cat is. She’s saying it like a joke, but we can all see that there’s a real kernel of truth in it. I’m sure that R is sorry that she gifted her the cat, because it’s been years and all she’s heard about the cat are complaints. It’s gotten to the point where we cringe if another co-worker asks about the cat, because we know R is going to feel the sting of J’s comments.

When another co-worker lost her dog, she expressly forbade R from getting her a surprise puppy. I’m sure that made R feel really good. But it was an important lesson for her: don’t gift pets to people!

19

What TriPolar said

20

It should never be a surprise gift unless you are 100% certain the person wants a dog and, preferably, they already have a specific dog in mind.

I know adults who have been given horses as a surprise, but it’s almost always a horse they’ve leased or at least ridden a while, so there’s already a relationship of sorts. That sort of interaction is much rarer for dogs and cats, (pet sitter,maybe?) but it would be one of the few instances where gifting a live animal would be ok.

The other thought I had was if one person wanted a dog of a specific breed or training and relied on someone else who had better knowledge to pick out a puppy for them. It still shouldn’t really be a surprise gift though.