Follow-up surveys of people who have adopted dogs and cats from an Australian shelter

Abstract

Unwanted pets are a major concern in Australia and many other countries, with shelters under pressure to accommodate them. This study assessed the degree of satisfaction among individuals whom had adopted a cat or a dog from the Animal Welfare League South Australia (AWL). The survey also assessed the adopted animals’ health, behaviour and interactions with children and other pets residing in the household. A cross-sectional survey was completed by contacting individuals who had adopted an animal by telephone, with questions relating to satisfaction with the adopted pet. Descriptive analyses, ordinal and logistic regression, chi squared, Mann-Whitney U and Kruskal-Wallis tests were conducted to determine variables related to adoption satisfaction. A total of 107 canine surveys and 168 feline surveys were included in the study. Undesirable behaviours were present in 53.3% of the dogs and 14.3% of the cats. Dogs with a behaviour problem after adoption spent significantly less time in the shelter versus dogs without a behaviour problem (18.6 ± 9.6 days versus 26.4 ± 19.2 days, respectively, p=0.017) Using a score out of 5, owners were very satisfied overall with their adopted cat (M=4.9, SD=0.3) or dog (M=4.8, SD=0.5), despite the presence of undesirable behaviours. These findings suggest adopters have realistic expectations of their newly adopted pet, although further research is needed to investigate the factors influencing adopter satisfaction. Assessing levels of adoption satisfaction is central to anticipating the outcome of prospective adoptions.