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One third of pets adopted as Christmas presents return to shelter

Many of you are planning on giving pets as Christmas gifts and they do make a great present but many animals that are given as gifts often end up in shelters. As a matter of fact last year about A third

Many of you are planning on giving pets as Christmas gifts and they do make a great present but many animals that are given as gifts often end up in shelters. As a matter of fact last year about A third of the animals that were adopted as Christmas gifts ended up coming back to the Humane Society of Southeast Texas. in the first three months of the new year.

Humane Society of Southeast Texas board member, Keely Kinsel tells 12 News HD, "Personally I do not think it should be a surprise until the children have been around the animal and its great when mom and dad are here, but the animal can act differently when the children are around. So that's important because sometimes people will surrender the animal back to us because it didn't get along with their children."

So to make sure everyone gets along and the animal stays in it's forever home, the Humane Society has a very simple, but important application and adoption process. But it's important to fill out the application completely.

Shelter manager, Carrie May says, "If you have any animals, we do a vet check. Make sure your animals are up to date on their shots. We do Bing or Google your property to see if you have a fence. It helps us out with the application process."

All to make sure you have a proper pet home for your new best friend.

One of the reasons many pets get re surrendered is that the owner moves. Kinsel says, "To me it's like having a child. It's a lifetime commitment. You take it to the doctor for it's yearly shot. You treat it monthly for its hear worm. It's another family member."

The application and the home checks are all part of the process to make a good match and if the pet is a Christmas present, that its not only a merry Christmas but the pet brings the family joy throughout its entire life.

When you adopt, you can expect to pay $85 for cats and anywhere from $95-150 for dogs. That includes the price of the spay and neuter.

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