Thinking of giving someone their first pet for Christmas? Or to someone who has always wanted a pet of their own? It's a nice thought but one that shouldn't always be done. Just because animals look cute under the Christmas tree doesn’t always mean they make good holiday gifts. Caring for animals is an enormous responsibility, one that can't be taken for granted.

"We try to communicate that pets are not presents," said Angela Prette with the Estevan Humane Society. "You really have to take the time to think about how pets take a lot of time, they take a lot of responsibility and they can take a lot of financial resources that people don't think about, like vet bills and everything like that. You really have to think about this first and make sure your family is ready to have this pet for life. Otherwise, you'll get this new puppy or kitten and your not ready for it and it will end up back at the shelter."

There haven't been many animals returned to the shelter after Christmas as the staff try to communicate that the animals aren't neccesarily gifts. The Estevan Humane Society is also closed from adoption from December 23 till January 2.

Prette also shares that the Humane Society could use donations of bleach, cat litter, cat food as well as puppy food. They only accept non-clumping cat litter and they don't accept Old Roy dog food.