OGDEN, Utah — Giving pets as Christmas gifts is usually discouraged, especially if the recipient of the gift isn’t asked about it in advance.
But now, a local animal rescue group is warning about something even worse – giving pets as “white elephant” gifts for the holidays.
Usually, white elephant gifts are items that are impractical or funny, and things that can be tossed away, not a living creature.
Wasatch Wanderers Animal Rescue shared some photos of one such case.
Someone came to them with a live mouse that was taken to a white elephant party in a jar and given to someone as a gag gift.
Wasatch Wanderers says giving a gift like this is cruel to the animal and can lead to the animal being abandoned.
“We want people to look at not just the here and now but are your kids going to be interested in this pet in four months,” said Adison Smith with Wasatch Wanderers. “Are you going to be able to take care of this companion if your child doesn't want to anymore? Usually around February we get all these phone calls from parents saying, ’I got my kid a guinea pig or I got my kid a bearded dragon and they don't take care of them.’"
Smith says her group named the little mouse ‘Elf,’ and says it suffered some cuts from the air holes that were punched in the lid on top of the jar.
The mouse is getting better and will soon be up for adoption.
Wasatch Wanderers works mostly with waterfowl and exotic animals.
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Last January, Smith and her organization rescued dozens of domesticated ducks that were abandoned in the Ogden area.
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Wasatch Wanderers says a lot of people like to give animals as Easter gifts, like bunnies and baby ducks.
The group also says that's not a good idea either, because shortly after the holiday, many people are trying to find a new home for their pets.
