It is often thought that prepping for the year end festivities will not be complete without the gifting frenzy. While this may be true for the joy it brings, it is not always through splurging that we can spark joy for ourselves and others. Especially in the case of doggos and cattos. We all know we’ll be gifted with slobbery kisses in the case of dogs and slow blinks in the case of cats in exchange for things that make them happy. If we can achieve this while making mindful decisions, there will only be an abundance of wins! So who’s complaining?
Here are some ideas we could think of to get you started on the path of conscious gifting:
1. Gifting Essentials
This goes hand in hand with the concept of not getting anything that may be deemed unnecessary. Since necessity could be subjective, the best and safest bet would be to get items that you know for sure the animal needs. If you are not buying for your own animal, you can try asking whoever’s animal it is you are buying for, on what the animal would really appreciate as a gift. While it may be unconventional to do so, this way you can avoid getting anything that could potentially be stowed away, never to see daylight or worse thrown out soon after.
Gift ideas: Things to Come Gentle No-Rinse Paw Cleanser, Natural Dog Company Skin Soother
2. Gifting Food/Treats
The way into an animal’s heart is through the stomach. Your animal and ours will attest to that. One way to figure what treats would be best as a gift (besides the treat being your recipient’s favourite) would be to check if the treats are cruelty-free. We believe all animals matter and hope more of us would also adopt this mindset. The easiest way to figure this is to look up the Bunny Free app to identify if the company that produces the treats test their products on other animals.
If you want to make this gift extra special, you can even consider making the edibles yourself. We know of some easy paw licking recipes that will guarantee slobbery kisses and slow blinking!
Gift ideas: CocoTherapy Maggie's Macaroons, v-planet Wiggle Biscuits
3. Supporting Animal Shelters
It is no secret that our local animal shelters are working at full and perhaps even beyond capacity. Keeping them in mind and supporting their work during the festive season would mean the world to them. Do consider making a donation on behalf of your pet and/or purchasing their merchandise as gifts to help keep going.
There are also a number of businesses who have adopted the model of donating a portion of their proceeds to various local animal shelters, so when you purchase your gifts from them, the season of gifting will also be the season of giving 🙌
Gift ideas: Christmas Sponsorship Gifting at ACRES Wildlife Rescue Centre
4. Grooming Workshop Experience
Understandably, your furry buddy might not see how your education on grooming sounds like a gift for them, but you can take our word that he/she will eventually be thankful. As an animal’s overall well being is closely related to the physical well being, we cannot emphasise the importance of grooming and why you should at the very least equip yourself with basics of grooming. So if you are a pawrent or know a pawrent who could do with some basic grooming/handling knowledge do consider signing them up for a reputable grooming course!
Gift ideas: Gift-A-Workshop Grooming Gift Certificate for Dogs/Cats
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Photo credits: Things to Come, v-planet