Pets at Home managing director David Herman, with 7-month-old Pearl, is encouraging the community to avoid impulse pet purchasing in the lead up to Christmas.25418
By Kelly Yates
A FOUNTAIN Gate pet care department store is urging customers to avoid impulse pet purchasing in the lead up to Christmas.
Pets at Home managing director David Herman told the News the store didn’t sell dogs and cats in a bid to stop the increasing amount of abandoned animals.
Mr Herman said pet shops that encouraged impulse purchasing were purely money driven.
“Traditionally people see the cute puppy in the window and think it would make a great Christmas present,” he said.
“But in most cases a percentage of them end up in homes or being destroyed due to spur of the moment purchases.”
The Fountain Gate store broke new ground in March this year after joining forces with the first Lort Smith Animal Hospital to create the adoption centre.
“The adoption scheme is personally rewarding and all of the animals we have are sourced from the Lort Smith Animal Hospital,” Mr Herman said.
“They are all vet checked, vaccinated, wormed, de-sexed, microchipped and temperament tested,” he said.
Mr Herman said taking home a pet was a life decision which carried a minimum 10-year commitment.
“Research has proven that people with a pet live a healthier and longer life,” he said.
To get into the Christmas spirit, Mr Herman will be feeding the animals in the hospital turkey and cranberry rolls on Christmas Eve.
People can also make donations to the store’s Lort Smith wishing tree.
The Australian Companion Animal Council (ACAC) estimates that around 53 per cent of Australian households own a cat or dog.
President of ACAC Dr Kersti Seksel said with Christmas rapidly approaching, people needed to be aware that giving a pet as a gift should not be considered unless they have worked out how it will be cared for.
“Some pet shops sell puppies and kittens, and it’s very easy to fall in love with a bundle of fluff in a pet shop window,” Dr Seksel said.
“But people need to do their homework and get as much information about the animals as they can from the pet shop owners.”
