Large Dog Relinquishment to Two Municipal Facilities in New York City and Washington, D.C.: Identifying Targets for Intervention

Abstract

Simple SummaryWhile the overall trend in euthanasia has been decreasing nationally, large dogs are at a higher risk of euthanasia than other-sized dogs in most animal shelters in the United States. We hypothesized that one way to increase the lives saved with regard to large dogs in shelters is to keep them home in the first place when possible. Our research is the first to collect data in New York City and Washington, D.C., identifying the process leading to the owner relinquishment of large dogs. We found that targets for interventions to decrease large dog relinquishment are likely different in each community. AbstractWhile the overall trend in euthanasia has been decreasing nationally, large dogs are at a higher risk of euthanasia than other sized dogs in most animal shelters in the United States. We hypothesized one way to increase the lives saved with respect to these large dogs is to keep them home when possible. In order to develop solutions to decrease relinquishment, a survey was developed to learn more about the reasons owners relinquish large dogs. The survey was administered to owners relinquishing their dogs at two large municipal facilities, one in New York City and one in Washington, D.C. There were 157 responses between the two facilities. We found both significant similarities and differences between respondents and their dogs from the two cities. We identified opportunities to potentially support future relinquishers and found that targets for interventions are likely different in each community.

Mosquito diversity and dog heartworm prevalence in suburban areas

“…It is not possible to definitively tell whether the dog acquired the heartworm infection within the zip code of its primary residence, nor is it possible to tell whether the positive heartworm test represents a new or chronic infection due to the long lifespan of the parasite within the host. Despite these limitations, shelter data presents a large, readily available dataset that generally cuts across various human demographics, including income and education levels [45], and is the best data currently available with which to test our predictions. Future studies could partner with local veterinarians to get finer scale host data, as collection of detailed travel history for newly heartwormpositive dogs would allow for more definitive mapping of spatial and temporal host-level incidence trends.…”

Chattel or Child: The Liminal Status of Companion Animals in Society and Law

“…People may want to provide a loving home to an animal, but lack knowledge and resources. For example, research has shown people who are in the process of relinquishing their animal to a shelter facility would be open to keeping that animal if help or resources were offered (Weiss et al 2014). 73…”

“…Of primary importance is access to rental housing. "No-pets" restrictions are a significant obstacle to obtaining affordable housing and a main reason that companion animals are relinquished to shelters (Weiss et al 2014;Shore et al 2003;Patronek et al 1996). One study found:…”

Psychological Correlates of Attitudes toward Pet Relinquishment and of Actual Pet Relinquishment: The Role of Pragmatism and Obligation

“…Unrealistic expectations can also lead to relinquishment when people expect the relationship with the pet to stabilize after adoption much quicker than it does [27], to expect the amount of work it takes to care for a pet to be less than it really is [28,29], and to expect the pet to play an unreasonable role in the family-e.g., expecting the pet to keep children busy or to teach them sensitivity and nurturance [23]. Changes of lifestyle during pet ownership can also be a risk factor for relinquishment, be it the addition of new members to the household [26], or moving, housing restrictions, and landlord issues (which are reported as one of the top pet relinquishment reasons [3,[30][31][32][33][34]). The lack of pet care and investment in the relationship is another variable identified as a predictor of pet relinquishment, as it concerns failing to seek veterinary services, behavior classes, or other forms of professional advice [28,29,32].…”