Adoption of shelter dogs in a Brazilian community: assessing the caretaker profile.
A survey in Ibiúna, Sao Paulo, Brazil, of caregivers (owners) who adopted shelter dogs assessed length of ownership, proportion of male and female dogs adopted, and owners' characteristics. It addressed breeding, neutering, vaccination, and veterinary care. It used no testing to provide a good "match" between dog and future owner. Of adopted dogs, 58% were male. Only 36% of owners were located. Mean ownership length was 14.8 months (95% confidence interval = 12.4 to 17.2 months), estimated through a survival analysis method. Of adopted dogs, 40.9% lived with their owners; 34.9% had died (some had lived on the streets); 15.0% were donated; 4.3% ran away; 3.2% were returned to the city shelter. Of interviewees, 57% reported no difficulties with the adoption; 23.1% cited the animal's illness and death as the main difficulty. For contraception, 87 owners (46.7%) chained dogs to prevent contact with other animals; 56.5% were against neutering. Reasons given were compassion (58.1%), unnecessary procedure (11.4%), cost (9.5%), and behavior change (4.8%). This research motivated a design for Ibiúna shelter dog adoption to improve the proportion of successful adoptions.
Soto
Francisco Rafael Martins
FR
Department of Sanitary Surveillance and Zoonosis, Municipal Health Department, Ibiúna, Brasil. chicosoto@ig.com.br
Ferreira
Fernando
F
Pinheiro
Sônia Regina
SR
Nogari
Fernanda
F
Risseto
Marcia Regina
MR
de Souza
Osana
O
Amaku
Marcos
M
D000827:Animal Welfare; D000818:Animals; D001938:Brazil; D004285:Dogs; D005260:Female; D001841:Human-Animal Bond; D008297:Male; D010067:Ownership; D010555:Personality Inventory; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires