Pets as gifts??

Have you ever received a dog as a gift and were totally surprised, shocked, scared, etc?
Have you ever given a dog as a gift without consulting with the receiver?
Every year around the holidays I see people online talking about the new puppy they just got and how cute it is. A few months later they aren't talking about their dog anymore. Dogs are a lifetime commitment that require attention, companionship, medical care, training and much more. Giving a dog as a gift is a very irresponsible thing to do, unless of course you discuss it thoroughly with the receiver.
If you were gifted a pet was it a surprise? How did you feel? Do you still have said pet?

I have received goldfish as gift when I was only six years old. They died because I overfed them. The second batch also died because there was no filter for the fish tank. Nobody taught me how to correctly taking care of pet fish back then.

Pets make terrible gifts in most cases. It takes more than just "pleasantly surprised" to be qualified pet owners. Each pet species has different needs and they require different care in order to stay alive and healthy. The bottom line is I do not believe in anyone should get a pet without doing some research first. Every day there are many pets ended up died in the hands of unqualified owners. Receiving pets as gifts probably have the worst of it.

The only case I can think of that it is ok to receive pets as gifts is when the parents who give their own kids pets, and teach the kids how to properly care for their new pets until they can do it right on their own. It requires the parents themselves to be qualified first by either have experience with this particular pet species or have done extensive research on the subject. It also requires the kid who is on the receiving end of the pet gift to be truly interested in having a pet and also willing to learn the proper care for the pet.

I think that it totally depends on the circumstances of who is receiving the pet, and how much they want on. Often, a person will buy a puppy because their spouse or sweetheart has been wanting one and has asked specifically for that pt as a gift. I think that in this case, the person receiving the pet will be very happy with the pet, and will keep it and take good care of it.
I think that if the person receiving the pet has not specifically said that they want a pet, and in particular , that type of a pet; then it is not an appropriate gift, and may become a burden to the person to take care of it, or the pet may be given away.
Mostly, I think that the person who actually wants a pet should be the one that is picking it out and purchasing the pet.

I'm one of those people who are very against giving pets as gifts. Too many of my cats were gifts that people stopped wanting after they stopped being kittens.

The only time I think it's okay to give a pet as a gift is someone has wanted a pet for a very good while, and is completely ready and able to have a pet. If your 13 year old wants a dog, and they have shown you that they're able to take care of it, then by all means. Give them a dog for a present. But not until they're ready for it.

I have never received any sort of animal as a gift though, thank god.

Growing up, my brother and I were heavily into video games. Every night, we would stay up playing our Nintendo 64, Playstation 2 and Game Boy/Game Boy Color/Game Boy Advance until 3am and when we would wake up, go straight to doing the same thing. My mother found it to be a problem; she was right.

It was a Friday, and my dad dropped off my brother and I at school. My mom then picked us up and took us back home. She was telling us how she has a surprise for us. We didn't know what it was but we were extremely excited to just have a present -- even if it was shared with each other. She told us to go into our room to find our present. When we went into the room, we found our present sitting on my bed looking so confused. It was our first kitten, Shadow, a Black Tabby. It was the best present that we've ever had. And I was so excited to spend quality time with him.

I was probably about 7 or 8 years old when I was gifted Shadow. Unfortunately, Shadow had passed away from cancer a long time ago. He was five years old at the time.

Adopting a pet is like adding on a new member of the family, and I don't think it's appropriate to take such a big commitment and take some of the decision-making out of it by presenting it as a gift. It's a lot of responsibility to care for a live animal and it's not to be taken lightly. Plus, there are a lot of expenses that come with having a pet and you sometimes have to make concessions. Further, there's something to be said about making an initial connection with your pet you only experience through finding them yourself. All in all, I don't think it's a great idea.