Trier animal shelter will not allow adoptions until January

Pets are an immensely popular gift for Christmas each year, but it remains a gift that requires the utmost care and consideration. While the joy of having a new furry friend on Christmas Eve is beautiful, the daunting realisation of the time and costs of owning a pet dawns on most families only several weeks later.

Unfortunately, once this realisation settles, these Christmas pets end up in an animal shelter in the new year. For this reason, an animal shelter in Trier has decided not to facilitate adoptions from December 13 to January 3.

"Animals are not Christmas gifts," the animal shelter wrote in their statement explaining the adoption pause on Facebook. "They don't belong under the Christmas tree, not in the holiday stress, and certainly not in a new home when a few days later the New Year's fireworks begin."

The animal shelter suggests that an alternative to gifting a pet on Christmas day would be contacting the animal shelter and gifting a membership card instead.

Anyone who has arranged an appointment with the animal shelter prior to the adoption pause is, of course, not affected by the measure.