Aspca closing handouts__final

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Closing the door on Barriers to adoption

Margaret Slater, Ph.D., DVM

Senior Director of Veterinary Epidemiology

Emily Weiss, Ph.D. CAAB

Vice President, Research and Development

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Where we are going

• Volunteers may make better adoption counselors than us

• Impact of adoption fees

• Pets obtained as gifts…are they at high risk?

• Exploration of policy based adoptions vs conversation based adoptions

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Adoption Ambassadors

Fosters as Adoption Agents…

a Louisiana SPCA Innovation

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Adopted through traditional adoption

yes

no

Have you ever adopted a pet from a shelter or

rescue group before?

51.9%

48.1%

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Adopted from Foster as Adoption Agents

Have you ever adopted a pet from a shelter or

rescue group before?

no

yes

30.3%

69.7%

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Adopted through traditional adoption How did you learn that the dog you most recently

adopted was available for adoption?

33.3%

Website

7.4% Other

59.3%

Visited the shelter

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Adopted from Foster as Adoption Agents

How did you learn that the dog you most recently

adopted was available for adoption?

24.2%

Website

18.2%

9.1% Other

24.2% Saw dog “out” wearing

“adopt me” vest Visited shelter 9.1%

15.2%

Friend told me

Saw dog at offsite

adoption event

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Figure 2. Density maps of adopter addresses in Charleston, SC.

Mohan-Gibbons H, Weiss E, Garrison L, Allison M (2014) Evaluation of a Novel Dog Adoption Program in Two US Communities.

PLoS ONE 9(3): e91959. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0091959

http://127.0.0.1:8081/plosone/article?id=info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0091959

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Returns are significantly lower for Adoption Ambassador dogs

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

Returns

AA

Shelter

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What if they are free? Our Research

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FREE CATS

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Fee-waived cat study in Canada

Fee-waived

and not fee-

waived cats at

same events

Followed

up 3

months

later

Standard

survey to

all

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Fee-waived adopters in Canada

Adopted

adult cats Could afford

regular fee

but preferred

free

Heard about

number of

cats needing

homes

More likely

to adopt

second fee-

waived cat

87% of fee-

waived adopters

drawn to cat due

to time cat in

shelter

> 2x as many fee-

waived adopters

made an extra

donation vs non-

fee waived

Why fee-waived?

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Fee-waived and non-fee waived

adopters cared for their cats!

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0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

free vet check no free checkup

Did you use the free veterinary check up?

Fee waived

Non-fee waived

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0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

still have cat don't have cat

Do you still have the cat?

Fee-waived

Non-fee waved

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Let’s give pets as a gifts

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What the Data Tells us…

•Dogs obtained as gifts are less likely to be

relinquished than dogs obtained from a

shelter, a friend, as a stray or from a pet

shop. (New et al, 2000)

•Cats obtained as gifts are less likely to be

relinquished than those that are obtained

from a shelter, a friend, as a stray or from a

pet shop. (New et al, 2000)

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20

•Pets are rarely relinquished because they

are a unwanted gift (Scarlett, 1999)

• Dogs received as gifts are significantly

less at risk for relinquishment compared to

those that were purchased or adopted

(Patronek, 1996)

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Did receiving a pet as a gift increase, decrease

or have no impact on your love or attachment

to the pet?

36%

3%

60%

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70%

No Impact

Decreased

Increased

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Were you involved in the selection

process of the pet that you received as

a gift?

34%

60%

6%

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70%

Yes

No, I was ok with the surprise

No, but I wish I were involved

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What we found

No significant relationship between receiving a dog

or cat as a gift, whether a surprise or not, and the

receivers reported love or attachment for the pet

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Is that pet still with you?

74%

12%

13%

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80%

Yes

No, pet passed away

No, pet is no longer with me

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No significant relationship between receiving a dog

or cat as a gift as a surprise or not and whether the

pet was still living in the home

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What about Dogs and Cats under the Tree?

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28

What Happens when Policies are Removed and

Replaced with Dialogue?

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Attachment

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ID Tag

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Where he sleeps

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Going to the vet

33

Declaw

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Resident dog issues

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Publications

•Gibbons, H., Weiss, E., Garrison, L., Allison, M. (2014) Evaluation

of a novel dog adoption program in two US communities . Plos1

•Weiss E. Gramann, S (2009). A comparison of attachment levels

of adopters of cats – fee based adoptions vs. free adoptions.

Journal of Applied Animal Welfare Science Vol 4.

•Weiss, E., Dolan, E., Garrison, L., Hong, J., Slater, M., (2013).

Should dogs and cats be given as gifts? Animals. Volume 3(4)

995-1101.

• Weiss, E., Gramann, S., Dolan, E., Scotto, J., Slater M., (2014).

Do policy based adoptions increase the care a pet receives? An

exploration of a shift to conversation based adoption at one

shelter. Open Journal of Animal Sciences.

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