Dog Adoption Series: Factors Influencing the Adoption of Animals

This week is National Animal Shelter Appreciation Week. In honor of shelters and animal adoptions we are focusing on a very important discussion about the importance of dog adoptions in our society and the crisis that surrounds it. There is a lot to discuss and encourage YOU to be part of the discussion.

Factors Influencing Adoption of Animals. Animal shelters are a positive place to find an animal to take into your life. Shelters provide a safe and temporary home for many dogs (and cats) of all ages and breeds. The shelter works like a homeless shelter, in the sense that it provides essential needs like food, water, shelter and veterinary care. Although this home is temporary, there are many dogs that remain at the shelter for very long periods of time (and at no-kill shelters, some dogs could remain at the shelter for years). The pervasiveness of homeless animals at the shelter is directly linked to many consequential factors. These factors result in some dogs being adopted at a faster rate than others, which pose a problem for animals that remain at the shelter for long periods of time. Furthermore, the adoptability of dogs is based on many factors, including its age, breed, health and temperament.

The most influential factor in the adoptability of sheltered dogs is the animal’s age (Normando, Stefanini, Meers, Adamelli, Coultis and Bono 2006). According to Normando et al. (2006) younger dogs are consistently adopted faster then older dogs regardless of the puppy’s behavior or other temperament issues. This illustrates that puppies are a popular choice for customers interested in adopting and causes undeniable consequences that still needs further investigation (Patronek, Glickman and Moyer 1995) (Scarlett, Salman, New and Kass 1999) (Normando, Stefanini, Meers, Adamelli, Coultis and Bono 2006).

Other important characteristics that contribute to adoption are the demographics of potential adopters. In one study, researchers concluded that adopters were typically highly educated (according to national average), owned their own home and were primarily female, between the ages of 26 to 55 years old (Marston, Bennett and Coleman 2005). In addition, approximately 82 percent of adopters had dogs as children and 85 percent were previous dog owners as adults (Marston, Bennett and Coleman 2005). According to Normando et al. (2006), the majority of customers adopting dogs were women; however gender did not play a crucial role on the success of adoptions. In these aforementioned studies, these demographic factors contributed to the rate of dog adoptions and the likeliness of these adoptions to occur.

Adopters with children are another vital factor that may lead to dog adoptions. In Marston et al. (2005), the majority of adopters had children between infancy to 18 years old. The frequency of parents to adopt may be because of the powerful effect animals - - specifically dogs - - have on children. Current studies indicate that dogs teach children empathy, compassion, responsibility and emotional support (Tissen, Hergovich and Spiel 2007) (Daly and Morton 2006) (Kotrschal and Ortbauer 2003).

The positive influence of dogs on children also results in affecting children’s social behavior, conduct, self-esteem and ability to socialize (Tissen, Hergovich and Spiel 2007) (Daly and Morton 2006) (Kotrschal and Ortbauer 2003). According to Kotrschal et al. (2003), they suggest that children that grow up with dogs develop more competent social skills as adults. These studies indicate that children usually respond well to dogs and benefit from their company in amazing ways.  In sum, parents may adopt more frequently then non-parents due to the powerful benefits that dogs can provide the development of their children. 

“Millions of 'consumers' initially decide to adopt a dog, only to later abandon that animal because it is inconvenient or no longer suits their needs” (Frank 2004: 108).

Finally, there are many factors that influence the adoption of dogs. According to the researchers outlined in this post, it is clear that the problem has many underlining layers. However, many people seem to disagree with these allegations and do not seem to know that dog adoption is highly important. Do you think that these people are unaware of the problem or are just disinterested in it? What do you think? Do you agree with the factors that influence dog adoptions?