Why do pet owners relinquish their dogs and cats to shelters? The findings
are in from an intensive study to determine and quantify the reasons.
Conducted at 12 shelters, the study involved personal interviews of people
surrendering dogs and cats. The National Council on Pet Population Study and
Policy sponsored the study, through donations from several organizations.
Trained interviewers used a 66-item questionnaire that included questions
relating to the animal(s) relinquished as well as the relinquisher. During
the 12-month study period (March '95 to March '96), 3,414 people were
interviewed. They relinquished 2,096 dogs and 1,319 cats. Of those, 3,041
were individually relinquished, 280 were surrendered in litters, and 94 were
in litters relinquished with the bitches.
Seventy-one causes were given for relinquishment. They are being condensed
into 12 categories. Of those 71, the top 10 reasons given for relinquishment
of dogs and cats are as follows:
Requests for euthanasia because of illness (7.4%)
Moving (7.3%)
Found animal (of unknown origin) (6.6%)
Landlord will not allow pets (5.3%)
Owner has too many animals (4.8%)
Euthanasia because of animal's age (4.6%)
Cost of maintenance of pets (4.1%)
Animal is ill (4.1%)
Allergies within the family (3.98%)
House soiling (3.37%)
As a group, pet behavior problems accounted for the greatest reason for
relinquishment, representing 12 percent of the total.
Dr. M. D. Salman, scientific adviser for the NCPPSP, said, "These are the
first quantitative measurements of the causes of relinquishment. However, we
must be cautious in terms of what people claim as the cause of
relinquishment. This information is based only on their responses, without
any investigation to evaluate the reliability of their claims.
"An analysis is going on in which we will try to associate claimed causes of
relinquishment with the type of people and animals. We have the quantitative
measurements now, but we won't know their meaning until we start to link them
with the characteristics of the people and animals."
The 12 animal care and control agencies included in the study were located in
Sacramento County, California (three); Front Range, Colorado (three);
Knoxville, Tenn (two); Louisville, Ky (two); Bergen County, New Jersey (one);
and New York City (one).
The study data will continue to be analyzed, and then combined with
additional research being conducted by the NCPPSP. Upcoming reports will
include information on owner demographics, lifestyle issues, and previous
knowledge of pet care as associated with the relinquishment of animals at
shelters in the study.
The National Council on Pet Population Study and Policy is a coalition of 10
of America's foremost animal organizations concerned about unwanted pets. The
AVMA is a member. The coalition gathers and analyzes reliable data that
further characterize the number, origin, and disposition of dogs and cats. It
also promotes responsible stewardship of companion animals and recommends
programs to reduce the number of surplus/unwanted pets.
Every day is one that
is gone forever. Make sure you do something for someone else, especially those who cannot
do for themselves.
~~unknown