HELEN Dransfield is bracing for the onslaught of unwanted Christmas presents.

The sad part is, she doesn't work for Gumtree or Ebay, but for the Toowoomba RSPCA.

She said the shelter is already at capacity with animals, and that's before the classic post-Christmas dumping period that arrives in mid to late January.

She said it was a common scenario for unsuspecting families to pick up puppies or kittens as Christmas presents for the kids, or worse be given pets by well-meaning relatives, which later proved to be too much for them to look after.

"Usually January and February is when the surrenders come in, after the novelty has worn off," she said.

"The kids go back to school and it all seems too hard.

"At the moment we've got a lot coming in from the council pound because a lot of people go away for holidays.

"Hopefully a lot will be reclaimed, but if not they will be coming to us."

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She said the RSPCA ran a program to encourage good families to adopt adult cats and dogs through December to ease the pressure on resources come January, but more forever homes were needed.

But the important thing was to make sure you were ready to take on the responsibility.

She said ensuring people took their responsibility seriously was also one of the main reasons discounted prices were never applied to puppies or kittens through the service.

Toowoomba's RSPCA shelter can be found at 43 Vanity St or you can call 4634 1304 to find out more about adopting a new furry family member.

