It would help if you considered the work that goes before and after giving someone their new best friend under the tree. Giving dogs, cats, and other pets as gifts has been part of holiday debates for years. For a long time, advocates worried the pets would go the way of that year’s hot toy: played for a little bit before eventually being neglected. A recent study by the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals shed some encouraging news on the topic, showing that 96 percent of people who received pets as gifts reported that it either reinforced or had no effect on their affection for their new pet and 86 percent of them still had them in their homes. Tanya Ditzman from the Wisconsin Humane Society says prospective pet owners are doing a lot of research to ensure their adoptions last.

Experts also recommend spending a lot of time at home and minimizing your foot traffic during the holidays to help you and your pet get to know each other better and adjust to the new surroundings.