Successful and Unsuccessful PET Adoptions

Abstract

To investigate possible reasons why millions of cats and dogs are adopted and then rejected each year, 120 male and 223 female adopters from the San Francisco Bay Area shelters completed George's Pet Expectations Inventory, which rates the physical, emotional, and intellectual effects of roles pets are expected to play, and the 50 fathers and 89 mothers rated the roles expected to affect their children's lives. Six-month phone call follow-ups ascertained whether they still had the adopted pet, and if not, why not. Analysis of responses indicated that: (1) subjects who already had or previously had pets retained significantly more newly adopted pets than those who had never had pets. (2) Men rejected a significantly higher percentage of pets than did women, as did significantly more parents than nonparents. (3) Although there were no significant differences in total scores between subjects who retained and those who rejected pets either for themselves or for their children, specific role expectations differed considerably between men and women, parents and nonparents, and retainers and rejecters. Adopters held higher expectations for dogs than for cats. Present results could help shelter workers reduce the number of adopted pets abandoned and euthanized.