title: Breed Characteristics of Abandoned and Lost Dogs in the Czech Republic.
abstract: Records on sheltered dogs were collected from 3 municipal dog shelters situated in different regions of the Czech Republic from 2010 to 2013. A total of 3,875 dogs were analyzed in this study. Among these, 1,614 dogs were subsequently reclaimed (lost dogs) and 2,261 dogs were abandoned and offered for adoption. The ratio of purebred dogs and crossbred dogs differed significantly when comparing lost (66.4% vs. 33.6%) and abandoned dogs (35.0% vs. 65.0%). The median time until lost dogs were reclaimed was 1 day, and it was not affected by purebred status. The median time until abandoned dogs were adopted was 23 days. In abandoned dogs, purebred status had a significant effect on the time the dog spent at the shelter before adoption. The median time until adoption for crossbred dogs was 27 days, whereas the median time until adoption for purebred dogs was 19 days. The breed group influenced the length of stay (LOS) in abandoned dogs. Small companion dogs had the shortest LOS (median = 15 days) and guard dogs had the longest LOS (median = 25 days).
authors.affiliation: a Department of Veterinary Public Health and Animal Welfare, Faculty of Veterinary Hygiene and Ecology , University of Veterinary and Pharmaceutical Sciences Brno , Brno , Czech Republic.
authors.forename: Eva
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Voslarova
authors.affiliation: a Department of Veterinary Public Health and Animal Welfare, Faculty of Veterinary Hygiene and Ecology , University of Veterinary and Pharmaceutical Sciences Brno , Brno , Czech Republic.
authors.forename: Jiri
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zak
authors.affiliation: a Department of Veterinary Public Health and Animal Welfare, Faculty of Veterinary Hygiene and Ecology , University of Veterinary and Pharmaceutical Sciences Brno , Brno , Czech Republic.
authors.forename: Vladimir
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Vecerek
authors.affiliation: a Department of Veterinary Public Health and Animal Welfare, Faculty of Veterinary Hygiene and Ecology , University of Veterinary and Pharmaceutical Sciences Brno , Brno , Czech Republic.
authors.forename: Iveta
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Bedanova
mesh_terms: D000827:Animal Welfare / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D000818:Animals; D018153:Czech Republic; D004285:Dogs; D006799:Housing, Animal; D013045:Species Specificity; D013997:Time Factors
keywords: adoption; dog; purebred status; shelter; stray