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Help Desk
Please consider the following before buying/adopting a pet: Will you be a responsible pet guardian? A responsible pet guardian:
What are your living arrangements? Do you own your own home or are you renting? Moving frequently can be stressful to pets. If you are renting does your landlord allow pets? Is the space large enough for the pet and breed that you want? Do you have a fenced backyard?
What is your lifestyle? Are you a couch potato? Are you active and enjoy outdoor activities like hiking and camping? Do you work late or go out after work? Ensure that the pet, or breed, that you are seeking matches what you like to do.
Time: Do you have time for a pet? Animals require varying amounts of time. Depending on the animal, and even the breed, how much time you have to dedicate to walking, training, exercising and mental stimulation for your pet will vary.
Time: Is it the right time for you to acquire a pet? Are you planning a move? Going back to school or work? Pregnant? Will other commitments or major changes in your life affect the introduction of a pet into your home? Then maybe it is not the right time.
Can you afford the costs? Are you able to afford the costs of pet care? Our friends at the Calgary Humane Society report that the average cost for dogs annually is $1,550 (not including one time costs such as adoption fee, spaying, microchipping etc.) and the average for cats is $850 annually. Also remember replacement costs of things such as your favorite shoes.
What is the lifespan of animal? Are you prepared to commit to your pet for its lifetime? Most cats and dogs have a lifespan of 15 years. Thinking about a parrot? They can live up to 80 years and they may potentially outlive you – who will take care of your parrot in this case?
Who will be responsible?
Trying to teach responsibility to your children? Understand that a family pet is a family decision and children will not take on all of the duties involving the pet, even though they will be enthusiastic at first! It is recommended for children to be seven years old to actively take part in pet care.
Can you handle the pet you hope to acquire? Dogs can pull four times their body weight and ultra-large breed dogs can overpower even the strongest person or animal. If your ultra-large dog got into a fight or attacked a person or pet, it would be difficult or impossible to pull them off. Do you have the knowledge and skill to provide the needed socialization and training your pet needs so they do not become a nuisance or a danger to others?
Buying or adopting a pet While pet sellers can be reputable individuals or breeders who treat their animals well, the ease of selling pets over the Internet also makes it attractive to careless, and/or irresponsible breeders and scammers. To protect yourself, you must be careful and believe only what you see, not what you are told, so please arrange for an inspection of the home where the pets are bred. Remember that the Kijiji Pets section is NOT intended to facilitate uncontrolled breeding, irresponsible commercial pet trading, trade of dogs or any other animal for the purpose of fighting or stud services. Any ads suspected of this kind of activity and/or reported to us can be removed. Users are responsible for adhering to the applicable conditions in relation to adopting, buying, selling or listing of an ad on Kijiji. Kijiji encourages, where possible, the adoption of pets and would encourage all pet owners to have their animals spayed or neutered as well as microchipped. When looking for a pet, it is important to meet the breeder or seller and especially important to meet the pet before agreeing to anything. Since Kijiji is local to your community, this should be easy to arrange. Never adopt/buy a pet from someone who is unwilling to let you see how and where the animal is living!