title: Adoption of shelter dogs in a Brazilian community: assessing the caretaker profile.
abstract: 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.
authors.affiliation: Department of Sanitary Surveillance and Zoonosis, Municipal Health Department, Ibiúna, Brasil. chicosoto@ig.com.br
authors.forename: Francisco Rafael Martins
authors.initials: FR
authors.lastname: Soto
authors.forename: Fernando
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Ferreira
authors.forename: Sônia Regina
authors.initials: SR
authors.lastname: Pinheiro
authors.forename: Fernanda
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Nogari
authors.forename: Marcia Regina
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Risseto
authors.forename: Osana
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: de Souza
authors.forename: Marcos
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Amaku
mesh_terms: 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