DETROIT (WXYZ) — Cold and alone is how Patricia Trevino, the director of the River Rouge Animal Shelter, found four tiny kittens in a broken crate with no top and under a tree.
She had received a tip that someone had abandoned them.
And sadly, Trevino and others involved in animal welfare and rescue know that a wave of unwanted kittens, puppies, cats and dogs is coming.
In January, February and probably March too, people will be making desperate calls to rescues and shelters across Michigan to say that they can't afford or they don't have the time for the pet they received or purchased as a Christmas gift.
Some will say their landlord doesn't allow pit bull-type dogs or dogs over 40 pounds. Others will say their son or daughter no longer wants the pet they couldn't stop cuddling on Christmas Day.
Truly accepting the responsibility for a living being requires much thought and deliberation, and that's why many rescues and shelters discourage giving pets as gifts.
Judie Jones, the director of Make a Difference Rescue in Detroit, said she fields 10 to 15 requests a day from people wanting to surrender their dog.
"Please, you have to be sure where those animals are going. Otherwise, they become recycled dogs," she said, noting the reality that her shelter and shelters across the Detroit area are filled to capacity and fosters are hard to come by and so is money.
Rescues like Make a Difference are always in a struggle to raise money to cover the cost of veterinary care, food and shelter for the animals left for them to care for when others stop.
Too often, dogs given as gifts wind up living in a crate or at the end of a chain because someone got tired of the responsibility. Eventually, some will die in those conditions as their owners move on with their lives and begin to forget that they even exist.
Jones said parents must be prepared to be the responsible person if they want to give their child a pet for Christmas.
"Don't expect that child to be able to handle the everyday needs of a dog. You are going to have to be there," she said. "You are going to have to supervise. You are going to have to intervene, help with the training. Young children are not equipped to do that."
The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals recommends that if the gift is a surprise, the gift-giver should be aware of the recipient’s lifestyle and schedule — enough to know that the recipient has the time and means be a responsible owner.
And the unwanted pets that wind up with rescues or in shelters are the lucky ones. Too often, people end up driving to a nearby park or a country road, opening the door and pushing the animal out as if he or she can figure out life on their own.
Some dumped animals are hit by cars or die of exposure or starvation. Life on their own isn't a good one or a long one.
"Unfortunately, as many good people are out there, there are evil people. That's not a good fate for a dog," Jones said.
Thankfully, the kittens that were abandoned in River Rouge are among the lucky. Trevino got to them in time, and a local rescue, Shelter to Home, graciously stepped in to help them.
