Jules wrote: >Deciding that they can get a puppy, they decide to wait til christmas >to give it to Jr. That's a good situation. Not all situations where >animals are given as gifts are bad. A lot of parents, who have kids who >genuinely want a rabbit, will wait until easter to get it for their >kids. If the family has given forethought to the animal, it is a good >situation. One of the problems with giving an animal as a gift -- even if everyone has done their homework & is on the same page -- is that the animal the gift-giver chooses might not be the animal the gift-receiver would choose. Animal companionship is a personal thing. Two different people can choose two different ferrets from the same litter. So if you choose the puppy/kitten/ferret for another person, that puppy/kitten/ferret might be great for you, but is not necessarily one the other person would have chosen. Much better to give a gift certificate stating that you will take the recipient to choose his/her own pet. With children, the pet chosen should be one everyone agrees on -- because the parents are responsible for the animal, no matter what the agreement between parent & child (a child can feed, water, and play with animal, but the onus of care is always on the parents -- they are responsible for making sure the child cares properly for the animal). --Mary & the Fuzz ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Mary R. Shefferman and Gabby, The Lone Modern Ferret Ferret Information: http://www.ferretnews.com Read my blog! http://www.modernferretblog.com/mary Depression Information: http://www.depressionplace.com Neat Stuff: http://www.amysdesigns.com [Posted in FML issue 4623]