How People Select a Pet--an ASPCA study

As a nonprofit that rescues stray or abandoned pets, we take great care in nurturing these dogs and cats and placing them in the right home. The latter is very important.  Most shelters do not have the luxury to do home inspections and multiple interviews. You would be surprised the number of hoarders out there that we discover.

The application and interview process is critical.  This is important because matching the right pet with the right owner reduces the risk that the pet will be returned or in some cases, dumped and abandoned for the second time.

The ASPCA recently announced results of a study that shows whether appearance or behavior were the main factors in selecting a pet.  For those of us in the field, the results were not surprising.

Click here to read the article on the Wall Street Journal.

We encourage anyone interested in adopting a pet to please be patient with the interview process. Private nonprofit organizations will take extra steps such as home inspections and more than one face-to-face interview.  Some potential adopters complain about the time involved with this process but do not realize the number of adopted pets that are later dropped off at a kill-shelter because the puppy or kitten grew up,  and the adopter no longer wanted the responsibility, or they adopted a high-energy dog when in fact they wanted a lap dog or cat.

This is a reminder why adult cats are easier to adopt than kittens. You'll know the personality and habits of the cat. Will Jasmine scratch up your furniture or will she be a Ms. Manners and use all her scratching posts? Take the time to learn everything about the pet from the shelter or foster parent.

Thank you for adopting a rescue pet!

Posted in: selecting right dog cat puppy kitten ASPCA