Up to Four Million Healthy Pets Euthanized Each Year | The ...

The numbers are staggering and sickening: Three to Four million healthy pets who can be adopted are euthanized every year across the country in shelters. Other pets are left to roam the streets after families abandon them.

What are the reasons behind the alarming number of animals who are abandoned, unwanted, and euthanized each year, and how can a home be found for them? A new study by the American Humane Society (AHA) and Petsmart examined pet ownership and retention to understand how to help reverse these alarming numbers.

The first part of the three-part study showed that of the 117.5 million households in the U.S., only 46.3 million have a dog in their family and only 38.9 million own a cat. Understanding the reasons why people choose whether or not to own a pet is the first step towards developing effective strategies to increase pet ownership and reduce the alarming number of homeless pets and resulting euthanasia rates, according to the AHA.

Three to four million healthy pets, like the one pictured in this animal shelter, are euthanized each year because a loving home cannot be found.

The group interviewed 1,500 previous pet owners and non-pet owners to determine the reasons behind their pet ownership decisions. Respondents who had owned a cat or dog in the past provided insights about their previous experience with pets; how they obtained them and what happened to those companions. Phase II, which is also being funded by PetSmart Charities, will research how many dogs and cats acquired from a sampling of shelters and animal control agencies still remain in their new homes six months following adoption, and what happened to pets who are no longer in those homes. Phase III will test practical interventional strategies for improving retention rates following the acquisition of a new pet.

Promising, Yet Daunting, Trends in Study

The study found that there are multiple major barriers to pet ownership including costs, lack of time to care for an animal, outright dislike of companion animals, especially cats (more than a third of non-pet-owners said they dislike cats), and lasting grief over the loss of a previous pet.

In fact, one in five respondents cites that grief over the loss of a pet was a major reason behind not getting a new pet.

Despite massive public education campaigns encouraging people to adopt from shelters, fewer than one quarter of previous dog owners (22%) and one fifth of cat owners (18%) obtained their prior pet from a shelter or rescue organization. Fortunately, 64 percent of prospective owners who previously owned dogs indicated that they would adopt a dog from a shelter or rescue organization, and 56 percent of prospective owners who previously owned a cat indicated they would adopt a cat from a shelter or rescue organization.
And in spite of the widely discussed physical and emotional benefits of pet ownership for older people, seniors citizens were among the least likely to consider a pet. Among those 65 or older nearly six in 10 previous dog owners would not consider getting another dog, and 66 percent of previous cat owners would not consider another cat. Among those who had never owned an animal, the figures were even bleaker: An overwhelming 90 percent of seniors said they would not consider getting a dog. Ninety-four percent are not open to owning a cat.

Getting Animals Into Loving Homes

?There are still significant hurdles to overcome in helping to keep more of these healthy, adoptable animals out of the nation?s shelters,? said Dr. Patricia Olson, chief veterinary advisor for American Humane Association and head of its Animal Welfare Research Institute. ?Using the data gathered and the work to be done in future phases of this study, we hope over time to decrease pet homelessness and relinquishment.?

?By understanding the reasons why so many Americans do not own a pet, and learning what we can do to increase lifelong retention of those that do,? said Dr. Robin Ganzert, President and CEO of the American Humane Association, ?we can take the necessary steps to change minds, change policies and change activities to help get more of these beautiful animals out of shelters and into the arms of loving families.?

Source: http://thereveredreview.com/2012/08/up-to-four-million-healthy-pets-euthanized-each-year/

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