title: [Responsible pet animal guardianship in the urban area of the municipality of Pelotas in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil].
abstract: The study sought to estimate the presence of cats and dogs in households in the urban area of the city and assess responsible guardianship and associated factors. A population-based, cross-sectional study was conducted using the multi-stage sampling process and the census sectors of the demographic census of the year 2010 carried out by IBGE were used as conglomerates. The unit under study was the household. The outcome was responsible guardianship, defined by a score that took into account the following variables: sterilization, anti-rabies vaccination, veterinary medical consultation, control of endoparasites, access of animals to public areas, control of ectoparasites and the collection of feces of animals in public areas. Of the 1,558 households investigated, 58.9% had pets (cat or dog). The study reveals that the score of responsible guardianship increases with the education level of the head of the household and is highest among apartment dwellers. The majority of the households investigated met only half of the criteria. The results of this study point to the need for public policies that instruct the population on responsible guardianship, and that offer immunizations and sterilization services for animals.
authors: Programa de Pós-Graduação em Epidemiologia, Universidade Federal de Pelotas, Pelotas, RS, Brasil, dungavet@vetorial.net.
authors: Lídice Rodrigues
authors: LR
authors: Domingues
authors: Programa de Pós-Graduação em Epidemiologia, Universidade Federal de Pelotas, Pelotas, RS, Brasil, dungavet@vetorial.net.
authors: Juraci Almeida
authors: JA
authors: Cesar
authors: Programa de Pós-Graduação em Epidemiologia, Universidade Federal de Pelotas, Pelotas, RS, Brasil, dungavet@vetorial.net.
authors: Anaclaudia Gastal
authors: AG
authors: Fassa
authors: Programa de Pós-Graduação em Educação Física, UFPel.
authors: Marlos Rodrigues
authors: MR
authors: Domingues
mesh_terms: D000820:Animal Diseases / Q000517:prevention & control*; D000818:Animals; D001938:Brazil; D002415:Cats; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004285:Dogs; D005191:Family Characteristics; D006801:Humans; D057805:Pets; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014504:Urban Health