Lovelyish

my SO would LOVE a husky. but his parents are not loving this idea. & a dog is a big big big responsibility….

and I think its a gift to buy together? 

people should never “gift” pets generally speaking. this is how animal abuse happens- well in some cases- they just buy a pet for “fun” or for the novelty and forget it will take a lot of work, care, and money. i want a dog but there is no way in the world i have the time or money for one right now.

no boyfriend or girlfriend should EVER gift a pet unless they’re the serious-lifepartner- we would be together for a long time. but even that changes and why would a girlfriend do that? it should be his choice, he can buy a pet on his own. he doesnt need some girl to buy one so that after the break up they have a nice puppy reminder of his once great, now over relationship.

ladies and men, people can buy pets for themselves!!! please do not go out of your way to do that. its a lot of work and time and if you want to sway someone to pet buy let them do it WITH you maybe, but its their own choice because they’re the one who will have to take care of everything after.

but in liams case i assume he has “people” who would do that, and id also assume money isnt an issue but still. let him buy his own dog if he wants one

My SO bought me my first rat as a gift, granted we went out together to get him so it wasn’t a surprise.   I tend to think that surprise pets are a bad idea.  It puts me in mind of all the homeless easter bunnies and christmas puppies that became “boring” after a few months.

I will never have to worry about this. My SO hates animals. He says no more once my kitty passes. 

I’d rather get/give a plant.

Well, my husband gave me a kitten I affectionately named Tiger 3 years ago–I love that little fur ball!  Of course, we both take care of him.  I wanted a pet, so I didn’t mind.  But, I don’t really recommend people giving pets to their significant other.  Just because someone said they wanted it, doesn’t really mean they want it.  It would be better if the person took their SO to the pet store or shelter to pick out their pet (I’m more for “adopt from the shelter” crowd than “buy a pet from the store/breeder”).  At least that way, he/she can pick their pet, or at least say no if they don’t feel ready to have one.  There is a lot involved.  Often you can’t just take it back if the SO didn’t want it.  Resent might be felt if the SO just accepted the pet so their bf/gf doesn’t feel bad because of their gift wasn’t appreciated.  Also, the cost and effort required to care for an animal needs to be considered, as well.

Grammatical errors are not okay.

It should be: Is Giving A S.O. A Pet As A Gift Ok?

And I think it’d be better to do it together.

Why wouldn’t be OK?

If you know what kind of animal they want/like, I think it would be more than OK.

@babybug329@xanga - Basically.. 

when you buy a puppy from a pet store you’re supporting puppy mills. Which are very real, and VERY horrible. You can easily find a purebred on craigslist, or in the paper. But going to the pet store is just supporting the mills they get them from

If your SO has been talking about wanting a pet then its a good idea. If not then you would be stupid to get them a pet for a gift. My boyfriend got me a dog but only because he knew i had wanted since i could talk and he also wanted a dog. But there is no doubt she is my dog.

My boyfriend got me my cat Chowder 3 years ago after my old cat Sassy ran away and never came back (she was sick). I think that it depends how long you’ve been with the person though.

A) That puppy looks faaaar too young to be away from its mum and littermates. Its eyes are still blue!
B) No, it’s not okay. Not unless you’ve talked to them first and worked out everything and done research about what that animal needs.

@ohletitbe@xanga - No, you can’t buy dogs off of (all?) Craiglist webpages. I know our county’s CL and surrounding counties do not allow the sale of dogs or cats through the site. Also, not all pet stores deal with puppy mills. Some invariably do, and it’s hard to get 100% accurate information about the ones who do and the ones who don’t, but not allll pet stores deal with puppy mills. My family has owned a wholesale exotic pet supply company for years (and before that, my parents worked for a similar-type company for many years) and we deal with many small-business model pet stores in California and Nevada, and I can tell you, not as many little-guy stores deal with puppy mills as big chains do.

i think so.  but there needs to be guidelines.  like being 100% sure that your partner is willing and ready to take care of a pet.  and there can’t be shared custody.  that’s too messy i think, unless you’re like married or really really serious.

@ohletitbe@xanga - I know that there are some puppy breeders who have horrible practices, which is why I normally point friends to shelters to adopt pets rather than buying one (if they ever ask me on my opinion on the matter).  Perhaps I was not clear in my comment.

I think it really depends on the people in the relationship. I mean, if you know your SO loves puppies or any other kind of animal, why not get them one? I guess you’d have to do your research and see if your SO has the time, money and permission to have a pet. My boyfriend bought me a hamster for our 11 months. Haha, I really like animals so I was really happy with the gift. But … my dad wasn’t as prepared but because my sister and I loved that hamster so much, he allowed me to keep it. Sadly she has passed away, but that gift was and still is super precious to me! 

My bf gave me a black lab puppy for just a random surprise gift…and I loved him. I still have him too hes a little over a year and half and hes huge lol. Didn’t think labs got so big….86 pounds….

It’s only alright if you have talked to your SO about it first. =] 

@babybug329@xanga - Nope, I was agreeing with you!

@Mangonese@xanga - That’s why I added the paper in there, as well. 

As far as I know they have a pet page on CL, where you can give away pets. I’m not sure if you’re ALLOWED to “sell” them, because a lot of them say things like “adoption fee of 100$” or “500$” whatever they want/think the dog is worth, basically. 

I generally don’t think it’s a good idea but it also depends a lot on the person you’re giving it to.

My best friend was gifted a puppy years ago.  Her relationship didn’t last long after that but she still has (and adores) the dog.

My boyfriend surprised me with a puppy but we had been looking for another one for months before.  He did his research, went to different shelters and found one that would fit in.  Two years later I still think that the dog was the best present ever.

@ThyRavenWings@xanga - I had a lab who weighed 116!  They can get big!!!

I bought my sisters a fish for christmas one time. It was a mistake, lol. I know fish are probably one of the only exceptions with this BUT… I had to clean the bowl all the time and they didnt do anything, so It was basically mine… Never again, lol

@ohletitbe@xanga -  Yeah.. I dont agree with breaders and stuff like that too much.. I got my dog (she passed away a while ago) from a pound and they were going to put her down just because there wasnt any room for her But we saved her

my sister’s first bf got her 2 hamsters. i thought that’s what she always wanted. that was like more than 10 years ago. found out recently she hated those hamsters.. they’re nocturnal, she couldn’t sleep at night lol.

so no, pets are not good gifts for SO unless you’re (the gift giver) is willing to take care of it if your SO doesn’t want it.

My boyfriend basically got me a rabbit, though I was there with him and was less fond of getting her.

I would love it if my s.o. gave me a puppy.. =O

Not only do you get that present… you have to take care of eat: feed, water, take to vet… it’s not cheap.  I wouldn’t really want a pet as a present.

@lttlegel - LOL wow youre doing it all wrong.you dont need to capitalize letters that dont exceed 3 letters in a title unless its in the first word.

I wish my husband would get me a puppy for a gift!!!!!!! But he says no dogs for now! Booooooo.

If you live with the SO, and are willing to take care of it if she/he doesn’t really, then sure. Otherwise, no. Pet ownership should not be “gifted” on anyone. That is how animals end up neglected or in shelters.

If they’ve talked about it, a pet would be a fine gift. Probably unwise to give anything that takes a lot of maintenance as a surprise gift though.

Conditions: If you’re living together and you’ve been together more than a year. 

No, it’s not okay. Pets are NOT gifts, they’re living, breathing creatures.

I’m sure it wasn’t a complete surprise. They had to have discussed this. Anyway, I would love a puppy from my boyfriend, but I honestly have no time to take care of one /: