Oh My Dog!

obsessed with dogs

How Not To Adopt a Pet: Removing Barriers to Pet Adoption

Several years ago, a friend of mine wanted to adopt a specific breed. She reached out to a number of breed-specific rescues who all told her the same thing: Sorry, you don’t have a fenced-in yard.

So, what did she do? She contacted a reputable breeder in her state and purchased a pup.

Did I mention she’s a vet tech? And she can bring her dog to work? She’s single, owns her own townhouse that, no, doesn’t have a backyard, but in literally every regard would’ve been the perfect person to rescue any pup.

Thank goodness every rescue doesn’t have that policy. We adopted both Emmett and Lucas while living in a condo that, yes, we owned but had no direct access outdoors.

How Not to Adopt a Pet: Removing barriers to animal adoption via OhMyDogBlog.com

OhMyDogBlog.com is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com. 

In another instance, very recently, I was somehow added to a threaded discussion on Facebook about electric fences. The original poster was an adoption coordinator or counselor for a foster-based rescue I think. She asked whether or not rescues allowed dogs to be adopted into a home with an electric fence. The answer, of course, was a resounding no way. There were probably close to 50 comments before I left the thread, all stating that an electric fence precludes someone in every case because they’re dangerous, they let wild animals in, they rely on shock, etc., etc., etc.

Now, I’m not a fan myself for a host of reasons, but. I know many incredible pet parents who have electric fences for a variety of reasons. In one case, a vet who took phenomenal care of Emmett in his aging years has one in addition to a fence because her dog was an escape artist and she needed a second line of defense. And, at least here in the Midwest, HOAs stipulate all kinds of crazy things, including whether or not you can have a fence and what it looks like. If someone’s only option is an electric fence, and no shelter or rescue will adopt to them, it’s not stopping them from getting a dog! They can, like a cousin did, get a pup from a rehome situation posted on cragislist, or from a dog printed in the newspaper, or, like my friend did, from a breeder.

Anyone who wants a dog will get a dog.

So, why do rescues make it so hard to adopt a pet?

I’m talking specifically about barriers to adoption, which speaks to a much, much larger issue I touch on in a minute. I realize that, sure, rescues and shelters have to create criteria for adoptions. They need to conduct some research into the person wanting to adopt to make sure that their animals are going into a good home… but who defines good?

In my time volunteering in all sorts of rescues in a number of states, I’ve seen criteria that included:

  • must have a fenced-in yard
  • out-of-state adoptions can’t already have a pet in the home (from a breed-specific rescue that does transport)
  • no electric fences
  • must own your own home or provide a letter from you landlord stating you can have a pet
  • submit to a home visit
  • submit references
  • be home during the day

I’ve read news stories about fantastic potential adopters being denied for all sorts of reasons, like:

That list could go on, but the bottom line for each point is that they’re making assumptions about the kind of person you are based on subjective criteria, which prevents some good people from adopting animals. And, as I said, that doesn’t prevent them from getting animals because, let’s be honest, you can get a dog or cat from just about anywhere at anytime. We found fosters Molly and Petey dumped in the bayou. We found Newt, essentially, in a parking lot. We found Ripley through friends who had a pregnant cat give birth in their barn.

The other thing about that list is that those are barriers that apply to only a certain percentage of the population.

I’m going to insert a big pause here and jump topics to animal shelter volunteers.

Bear with me because it all comes full circle…

There’s been a ton of research into volunteerism across all kinds of industries, but there have been several recent publications surrounding volunteerism in animal shelters. One of the main questions, of course, is how to retain volunteers for the long haul. However, for the purposes of our discussion, I want to take a look at demographic data that seems consistent:

A national sample of 426 animal welfare volunteers was given modified versions of the Bureau of Labor Statistics (2007) annual “Volunteering in the United States” survey and of the VFI [Volunteer Functions Inventory]. Results suggest that the typical animal welfare volunteer is female, White, pet-owning, heterosexual, employed, childless, married or partnered, Democrat-leaning, between the ages of 40 and 59, has an income between $50,000 and $99,999, and is Protestant. (source)

OK.

So, here’s the thing: Animal rescue across the board is a middle class white lady thing. Statistically, of course, which doesn’t matter at the individual level where I know lots of animal welfare advocates and volunteers who are not middle class nor white nor ladies. But, by and large, that’s the demographic nationwide.

{{If you haven’t yet read Bronwen Dickey’s Pit Bull, please do. It covers this issue in greater depth than I can here with a lot of the nuance and history accounted for and analyzed. Plus, it’s just a fantastic book.}}

When you take a look at the list of pet adoption barriers, well, the reality is that generally speaking lots of them wouldn’t apply to middle class white families. That’s not to say I think animal welfare intentionally excludes people based on race or the demographic factors related to race (for which I highly, highly recommend digging into in this book. So good and informative, even though she doesn’t tackle animal welfare head-on). Of course it’s not the case for every single person and family in America, but it is statistically the case for many people and families in America.

As I said, I don’t think this is a purposeful problem but rather a set of arbitrary exclusions enacted by many rescues over time that then precluded animal adoptions from being a democratic process.

And, as I also said, those barriers to adoption will never prevent a person from acquiring an animal. They’ll just prevent more shelter animals from finding their way into loving homes that, sure, might not have a fence or might not have a food or vet budget determined by the rescue.

I’ve encountered versions of this discussion around two other topics: the cost of adoptions and the cost of pet care. I have a post on the cost of pet care coming soon, but in my post on the cost of adoptions and the corresponding discussion on Facebook, it was clear that many people do believe there should be an income requirement for pet adoptions. That’s galling to me because it’s basically saying that poor people shouldn’t adopt pets. Ugh. Same goes for those pet food discussions. If someone can’t afford to feed XYZ premium food, then can they truly afford to take care of the pet? so the argument goes. Double ugh.

Matching pets with a suitable home and family is vitally important.

Every shelter, rescue, foster, whatever must have guidelines, of course. A more flexible approach doesn’t mean no barriers whatsoever; it simply means taking into account more types of people and lives.

By the way, whether or not the reasons for denial are just, rescues are privately held organizations that can adopt to whomever they deem fit. However, I’ve recently left two Facebook groups centered around animal adoptions because the threads were so disheartening–not just the electric fence question, but the question about dog food, and the question about apartment dwellers, and the question about reference checks all ended with resounding cries of “exclude them!”

All I can think, though, is this:

A good home, even an imperfect one, is a better home than a shelter.

I’d love to know what you think. I know many of you work or volunteer in animal welfare in some capacity. I have a million tabs saved in my Chrome with anecdotes, policies, research, and so on, but I’d love to hear from those of you with boots on the ground, so to speak. Have you encountered any of these barriers to pet adoption? Do you have experience being prevented from adopting? Or does your volunteer experience track with this? Please share your experience in the comments so we can all learn more about this crazy important topic together!

ADDITIONAL READING:

Pets for Christmas: Should you gift a dog or a cat?

I’ve been researching a post about adoption barriers, and I have a whole huge situation–with footnotes!–coming on that in the new year. For now, though, one thing I’ve encountered over and over again in my research: Limiting adoptions for the holidays throws up yet another adoption barrier not founded in data.

I am fully aware that this isn’t a popular opinion, so stick with me, guys, because I’m going to break it down.

Should you give a dog or cat as a Christmas gift_

I’m sure you’ve seen the headlines:

  • Pets Aren’t Presents
  • 5 Reasons Not to Give Pets as Christmas Gifts
  • Why You Should Avoid Giving Pets as Gifts

As so on. There’s even a massive online campaign from my least favorite, most hated animal group, PETA, that includes a social and blog push for “pets aren’t presents.”

Before we look at the numbers, let’s set three expectations:

First, we’re not talking about giving a puppy to, say, your mailman or your child’s classroom teacher. This isn’t a surprise for your Great Aunt Gladys (unless she explicitly told you all she wants is a kitten). This is a pet gift within your own household. And, honestly, the numbers bear this out anyways… people aren’t giving pets as presents to random people on your list anyways.

Second, every single one of the “don’t give pets as holiday gifts” articles I’ve read included the same theme: Giving a pet as a present brings an animal into an unprepared household. Since every  article includes this same warning–the recipient won’t be prepared–I’m wondering who they think gives the pet. I’m not sure if this is a scenario that assumes you give the pet as the gift and then wash your hands of it, but if we’re talking pets adopted into the same household (see the point above), it’s an expectation on the giver’s part to, you know, give the pet’s supplies along with the pet. Since more often than not this pets-as-presents debate focuses on parents giving their kids a pet for Christmas, well, the parents buy the supplies anyway.

Third, I’m focused solely on dogs and cats. Unfortunately, as with just about every animal welfare topic, there’s little reliable data on small animals, and I’m striving to avoid assumptions or anecdotes in favor of data.

OK, so we’re talking about a dog or cat given as a gift within the household and a responsible adult is involved in the decision. 

Seems simple enough, but somehow the popular opinion has decided people give pets willy-nilly to unsuspecting friends and family who know nothing about pets, who don’t have the budget for it, who haven’t pet-proofed their home. And then it turned into skyrocketing relinquishment numbers post-holiday (which the data shows that’s a far cry from the truth… more on that in a minute). Honestly, who’s giving dogs and cats out to everyone on their list?

All that aside, this happens so often in animal adoption: feelings seem to hold more weight than data. So, let’s look at the data.

My preference is always to find peer-reviewed literature, and there’s not a ton, but there’s this: “Should Dogs and Cats be Given as Gifts?” published in the open-access journal Animals in 2013. You can access the full study here, but here’s what the authors state in the intro (bold emphasis added by me):

Common arguments include statements such as: pet ownership shouldn’t be an impulse decision; the recipient should consent to pet ownership and be involved in the selection of a pet that fits his or her lifestyle; it’s a long-term commitment; pet ownership is costly; the holidays are a bad time to bring home a new animal. This message may be driven by concerns of inappropriate homing and return to the shelter. Often, organizations that support these arguments cite anecdotal evidence that returns of pets from unhappy gift receivers occurs frequently. However, the available data do not support these concerns.

They went on to clarify the purpose of their study:

While there is strong existing evidence to show that dogs and cats obtained as gifts are not at a higher risk of relinquishment than dogs and cats obtained in other ways, the myth that dogs and cats should not be given as gifts still persists.

They concluded:

The lack of associations between receiving a dog or cat as a gift and its impact on self-perceived love/attachment and whether or not respondents still had the dog or cat in the home is evidence supporting the notion that pets given as gifts are not at higher risk for abandonment. Further, denying potential adopters the right to obtain dogs and cats as gifts may unnecessarily impede the overarching goal of increasing the rate of live-releases of dogs and cats from our nations’ shelter system.

Ultimately, the outcomes for animals given as gifts are the same outcomes of the general pet population. 

As far as anecdotal evidence, ASPCA Pro published a case study of a shelter in Charleston, SC, that launched a “Home for the Holidays” program. In that case, the president of the shelter reported that 40 pets have been given as gifts through their program and none have been returned.

In the ASPCA’s official position statement on pets as gifts, they write:

Recently, the ASPCA conducted a survey to learn more about people who acquire pets as gifts. In the survey, 96% of the people who received pets as gifts thought it either increased or had no impact on their love or attachment to that pet. The vast majority of these pets are still in the home (86%). The survey also revealed no difference in attachment based on the gift being a surprise or known in advance.  Several studies conducted in the 1990’s and 2000 (Patronek, 1996, Scarlett, 1999 New, 1999, New 2000) found that pets acquired as gifts are less likely to be relinquished than pets acquired by the individual.

And, across the ocean, the conversation is changing on pet adoptions through the RSPCA. Here’s an article that examined data and conducted interviews and concluded, again, that pets can be wonderful gifts as long as it’s not a surprise to an unsuspecting friend or family member. Check out their relinquishment rates graph, too, which further shows that the data just doesn’t bear out on the supposed increase in post-holiday pet relinquishment in the UK.

Finally, in this piece from CBS News, the journalist juxtaposes a shelter’s reluctance to adopt pets during the holiday against the data and the HSUS’ position, as well, ultimately concluding that more progressive shelters are likely to allow or even encourage adoptions during the holidays.

BTW, one of the shelters quoted says they try to counsel against adopting pets as gifts but understand that the person can ultimately just leave and go buy a pet to gift… so, who wins in that scenario?

This myth seems to be simply another barrier to pet adoption. Common assumptions that aren’t backed by research prevent pets from finding their families throughout the entire year, but hopefully this myth can be dismantled so that more pups can spend Christmas morning in a home!

Bottom line:

  1. Don’t give a pet to someone not in your household. Duh.
  2. Make sure an adult is involved in the decision. Also, duh.
  3. Pets make wonderful gifts and giving an adoptable dog or cat a home for the holidays is absolutely lovely–IF numbers 1 and 2 are strictly followed!

So, what do you think? Have you heard that pets shouldn’t be given as gifts? Have you ever received a pet as a gift?

Let’s get some dogs into homes!

BarkBox Hosts Rescue Month All October

So, here’s the summary before I get into the details: BarkBox is hosting several initiatives to get homeless pets adopted. One of them is through folks like me who are set up with an affiliate link. For the month, they’ve raised the discount I’m allowed to offer to 15% off a subscription AND have added a $5 donation for every box purchased in October to cover adoption fees for shelter partners.

And their partners are FAB! There’s a list of more than 15, but they have so many that tie into Pit Bull Awareness Month! Here are a handful that strike a chord with me:

  • Ambassador Pit Bull Rescue
  • Big Dogs Huge Paws
  • Bully Paws Pit Bull Patriots
  • NEW YORK BULLY CREW
  • Old Friends Senior Dog Sanctuary

OH! And if you want the October box – I hear it’s going to be quite spooky – today’s the last day to place that order, otherwise you’ll start up in November.

September BarkBox

 

So, here’s another initiative: BarkBox is offering free three-month subscriptions to adoptable dogs shared by their partners all month. Hey! I’m a partner! 🙂 I’m going to be going to my shelter to photo some of the darling adoptable dogs to share and tag on Instagram to hopefully get them into homes. How exciting is that?!?!

BarkBox Rescue Month

If you’ve been debating a subscription, this is a great time to do it because you’ll be helping dogs find their forever homes while spoiling your pups! The box pictured above, btw, was the September box we received. The only thing we didn’t love was the pennant squeaky toy since it’s not a durable option, so that went into our shelter donation bag. Everything else was spot-on, and that football is still intact, if you can believe it! (You can also request “allergy-friendly” and “power chewer” subscriptions after you place the order… just forward your order confirmation to support(at)barkbox(dot)com requesting that special version.)

One last time, my affiliate link to get you 15% off a subscription!

I seriously can’t wait to get into the shelter and snap pics of darling dogs who are looking for their homes. I’ll be sure to share them as I go! In the meantime, have a lovely weekend! So much to come next week… Stay tuned! 🙂

Should pet adoptions be free?

Last week we had a discussion on Facebook about whether it’s a better use of your donation to sponsor an adoptable dog or to pay the adoption fee for a dog in advance.

A single theme emerged: If someone adopts a dog simply because the adoption fee is free, then that person probably can’t afford to care for a dog for its life anyway.

That got me thinking… then researching… then wondering… Should pet adoptions be free?

I found some interesting arguments on both sides, but in the end, what I found went a long way to convince me that free adoptions – at least occasionally as a special promotion – are a great idea! So I wanted to share some of what I discovered.

Misconception #1: All those lunatic hoarders/dog fighters/animal abusers will flock to collect “free” animals.

A free adoption does not mean a shelter lowers their adoption standard. If the shelter requires an application for a full-price adoption, the shelter requires an application for a free adoption. If the shelter requires a home visit for a full-price adoption, the shelter also requires a home visit for a free adoption. And so on.

That fact goes a long way, in my opinion, to assuage the idea that free adoptions draw in the crazies who are just wanting to collect free animals for hoarding/fighting/torturing/whatever.

Misconception #2: People who can’t afford an adoption fee can’t afford to take care of their animal.

There is actually a ton of research out there to counter this argument. (Here are a couple comprehensive studies on fee-waived cats from Maddie’s Fund and ASPCA.) In essence, what shelters that have tried free adoptions have found is that it doesn’t attract people who can’t afford their pets. Instead, it draws in people who were on the fence about adoption and encourages them to go ahead and adopt.

Also, Christie Keith over at Dogged tackled this issue a year ago, and she raised an interesting point: “There is almost always at least a hint of judgment that poor people will be bad pet owners in a myriad of other ways, too.” But, the reality is, a Journal of Applied Animal Welfare Science found that free adoptions did not devalue the pet in the adopter’s eyes, nor did it result in less attachment between pet and owner (versus a paid adoption).

Misconception #3: Giving away pets will take much-needed money from the shelter.

Shelters spend a ton of money on every animal they take in. I tried to find actual numbers, but they vary so widely from source to source that I didn’t feel comfortable quoting one specific thing. There’s no question that it’s an expensive endeavor to fully vet, groom, house, and feed animals in a shelter. However… If a shelter is relying on adoption fees to sustain operations, that shelter is in trouble at a more fundamental level. Instead of focusing on bringing in $125 or whatever for each animal – which comes and goes seasonally, at the whim of the economy, by what animals are “in stock,” and so on – a shelter in that position should be pouring its efforts into attracting and retaining donors, establishing a legacy giving program, cultivating “angels,” and diversifying their revenue streams. But that’s a post for another day. The bottom line, though, is that shelters can’t and shouldn’t rely on adoption fees to sustain operations.

One last point: From the studies linked to above and from this super honest post from Pets Alive, there’s another added benefit to free adoptions. Shelters that offer free adoptions for harder-to-adopt animals – say, cats over 3 years of age, senior dogs, etc. – decrease the amount of time those animals are in the shelter. In other words, they’re finding homes for them faster.

To me, it seems that the concerns that stop shelters from offering free adoptions have been alleviated with real-life examples like ASPCA, Pets Alive, and Maddie’s Fund. If it results in more animals ending up in loving homes, it seems like a home run. But I’m open-minded! I’d love to hear your experience.

What do you think? Should pet adoptions be free? Do you have examples or thoughts for either side of the argument?

Unexpected ways to help animals get adopted

We all want to help animals find loving homes. One way, of course, is to adopt your next pet! But if you’re not currently looking to add to your family, there’s still a lot you can do to help place dogs and cats with their forever families. Here are five ways you can help animals get adopted.

  1. Have an eye for photography? Own a decent camera? You can help get dogs and cats adopted by taking pro-quality photosthat show off the animal’s personality. Better pictures help “sell” adoptable dogs and cats because they appeal to potential adopters.

    Emmett’s actual pic from the shelter’s website… he was one fat boy!
  2. If you’re creative and like to write, donate your talent! Write compelling descriptions of adoptable animals.
  3. Post local adoptables on your social media channels. Facebook, Pinterest, and Twitter are great tools for spreading the word on adoptable animals in your area.
  4. Teach shelter dogs a few tricks. Dogs with a little knowledge are more appealing to potential adopters. Volunteer a few hours of your time each month to teach shelter dogs basic behaviors like sit and stay.
  5. Foster an adoptable pet. You’ll provide a loving home that will help the dog or cat become socialized and adapted, while freeing up space in the shelter for more dogs and cats. Just don’t be a foster failure like me!

This post is part of the Pet ‘Net Adoption Event 2012. Please visit the hub page and check out all the other fabulous posts about pet adoption. Plus, you could help your local shelter win big through the voting module on the Pet ‘Net hub page for visitors to enter their zip code.  Once all the zips are tallied, a $5000 donation from Petside.com will be given to a local animal shelter in the winning community!