DECATUR - As the holidays approach, many people will consider bringing home a furry ball of love with a waggling tail as a gift.

Teresa Weybright of the Macon County Animal Control and Care Center has advice on giving pets as gifts for the holidays: Don't.

"When it comes closer to Christmas, and I hear it's for a Christmas gift, I discourage it highly," Weybright said. "If they tell me it's going to be a gift, I pretty much tell them, 'No.' "

Weybright said several factors often lead to pets that were intended as gifts to be returned, something that is heartbreaking for many owners and animals alike.

A quick tour of the care center's enclosures provides several examples of well-meaning friends or family getting the wrong pet, forcing the new owners to give the animal up.

Boo Radley, an energetic black Labrador, was returned because the family who received him had young children, and Boo was too rambunctious, Weybright said.

Malcolm the cat returned to the care center after his new owners found he also came with a gift of severe allergic reactions for their daughter.

Alexis, a large Pyrenees cattle dog, was a gift from a woman to her boyfriend. The boyfriend returned Alexis after he had to move to a place that would not accept pets, Weybright said.

Squirt the pit bull had to be returned because the elderly couple that received him as a gift just couldn't physically handle such a large, high-energy dog.

Weybright said she also has seen more owners who have brought their pets in to the shelter because they have lost their jobs or their homes. It's another factor to consider before gifting somebody with a pet they might not be able to afford.

Karen Reed, manager at the animal adoption service Love At First Sight in Hickory Point Mall, said this time of year does see an upswing in the number of people seeking to give a pet to someone special.

Reed said there are things people who are buying pets as gifts should consider.

"I would definitely want to make sure it would be OK with the people and make sure they would be able to have the pet," Reed said. "I would hate for somebody to adopt a kitten and then find out that the people couldn't keep it or care for it because of their allergies."

While it can be hard to pass up the temptation to give somebody the gift of a companion for the cold months, Weybright said there can be too many factors people don't think about that could make pet and owner incompatible.

"They may be allergic to a cat or be looking for a specific dog," Weybright said. "You can get somebody a pair of jeans, but you can't get them a lifelong friend."

Many of the factors have to do with an owner's preference, and since many people want to surprise the people they are giving the pet to, it can often lead to problems with compatibility.

Weybright said cats in particular often are returned due to allergies.

One alternative to the risk of giving somebody an incompatible pet is to provide them with the money to go choose a pet for themselves, Weybright said.

Ultimately, Weybright advised any people who are dead-set on getting a pet as a gift to consider several important factors such as the gender of the animal, whether they are long-haired or short-haired and if the owners or anybody else living in the house could be allergic to ensure the animal will end up with a loving home instead of a heartbreaking return to the shelter.

"Be 100 percent sure of what you're doing, because this is a lifelong commitment," Weybright said. "It's not fair to the people or the animal to get adopted and then get brought here. It's not their fault that somebody picked the wrong thing."

klowe@herald-review.com|421-8985