Pet Shelters often Hear Canadians Voicing their Concerns about Adopting Shelter Pets, such as Behavioural Problems (81%) and Unknown Medical History (71%)

Toronto, ON - There seems to be a fair level of apprehension around adopting pets from shelters, as eight in ten pet shelter employees (81%) hear people saying that shelter pets tend to have behavioural problems. Nearly one in three respondents (28%) reports that they frequently hear that `shelter pets are animals that have behavioural problems,' and an additional 52% say that they sometime hear this.

Many also say that they frequently (26%) or sometimes (41%) hear that `you cannot find a pure-bred animal at a shelter.' Given this, it's not surprising that many believe that `you never know what kind of animal you will get when you adopt from a shelter.' Seven in ten respondents say that they hear this statement at least sometimes (18% frequently/52% sometimes).

Similarly, it also seems to be commonly believed that `you never know an animal's full medical or health history when you adopt from a shelter,' as 29% hear this frequently and 42% sometimes hear this. However, the perception that `all shelter animals are old and have health issues' is less prevalent as just 9% of pet shelter respondents say they frequently hear this, though 29% say that they sometimes do.

Some Canadians believe that they may not find their perfect match at a shelter, as 16% frequently and 34% sometimes hear that people `won't be able to find the animal they want at a shelter.'

Majorities of shelter employees say that the top reason animals are brought to their shelter is because they are stray or abandoned (50%). Nearly one in five says that animals are given away to shelters because owners are moving and cannot bring their pet with them. Other reasons that animals end up at shelters include owners not being able to afford to care for their pet (7%), behavioural problems (5%), the animal becoming too much work for the owner (4%), the pet not suiting the owner's lifestyle (3%), the animal was rescued from a puppy mill or abusive home (3%), the owner going through a major life change such as a divorce or death (2%) and the birth of a new baby (1%). Seven percent cited some other reason.

These are the findings of a telephone survey of 103 Canadian pet shelters conducted on behalf of IAMS from March 16 - April 2, 2009. IAMS provided the contact information of pet shelters across Canada. Statistical margins of error are not applicable polls that are not based on a pure probability sample; however, an unweighted probability sample of this size, with a 100% response rate, would have an estimated margin of error of +/- 9.7 percentage points, 19 times out of 20, had the entire population of Canadian pet shelters been polled.

For more information on this news release, please contact:
Sean Simpson
Research Manager
Ipsos Reid
Public Affairs
(416) 572-4474
[email protected]

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