This year’s holiday shopping season is in full swing with retailers helping consumers plan their gift lists for friends, family and pets. According to the American Pet Products Association, 62 percent of US households own a pet and nearly 80 percent of dog owners purchase gifts for their pet. One gift that keeps on giving is gaining popularity this year— the California Pet Lover’s License Plate.
“Traditionally, pet lovers have looked for gifts that provide instant gratification for their pets— toys, treats, and accessories like beds, collars, and sweaters,” said Aimee Gilbreath, executive director of Found Animals Foundation. “In 2010, we’re encouraging pet lovers to add more gifts that keep giving all year long to their selections, from a promise to head to the dog park each week to visible expressions of love for a pet.”
This holiday season, pet lovers and their friends and family can make a difference by giving the California Pet Lover’s License Plate, a one-of-a-kind gift that never goes out of style or gets “used up” — the whimsical license plate, which can be personalized with a beloved pet’s name (or other words), features original artwork created and donated by actor, artist and animal lover Pierce Brosnan, showing two of the animals he and his wife Keely adopted: Shilo the dog and Angel Baby the cat.
Purchasing the California Pet Lover’s License Plate helps provide free or low-cost spay and neuter surgeries, and it displays a person’s love for pets. Additionally, it will help raise awareness about the overwhelming number of homeless and unwanted dogs and cats in California and the importance of spaying and neutering pets to save animal lives.
Every year, shelters take in approximately eight million stray and unwanted animals across the country. According to figures available from the California Department of Public Health, the total number of dogs and cats euthanized in public shelters rose from 378,445 in 2004 to 432,512 in 2008. When the state’s private shelters are included, it is estimated that one million pets enter California’s shelters each year, with more than half of them euthanized. The simplest and most responsible act that a pet owner can take to help alleviate this crisis is to spay or neuter their pets.
Unique Gift Ideas for Pets
This season, consider something unique to wrap up for pets. Below are 10 ideas for pleasing the pickiest pets and pet lovers.
• California Pet Lover’s License Plates
• Eco-friendly bamboo bowls
• Lighted collar covers
• Time— schedule pet dates to share a walk, play or just relax together
• Customizable photo frames
• Personalized meal mats
• Rubber-tipped grooming brushes
• Pet photo totes
• Personalized treat jars
• Break-away cat collars
More Information
petloversplate.org
