#WTFact Videos In #WTFact Britannica shares some of the most bizarre facts we can find.Demystified Videos In Demystified, Britannica has all the answers to your burning questions.Britannica Classics Check out these retro videos from Encyclopedia Britannica’s archives.It’s also important for anyone thinking about adopting an animal to consider in advance how they will deal with potential issues, so that they don’t end up adding to the numbers of abandoned animals.ĭo you know anyone who has given up an animal? Let me know in the comments what happened-and whether there might have been any way to prevent it. Shelters can help to educate adopters about the commitment involved in being an animal caregiver. Many animal shelters now have printed information on coping with the most common behavioral problems, and some even provide telephone hotlines to help people work through issues. I’ve come to believe that one of the most important jobs of an animal shelter is to reduce the number of abandonments through outreach and education. Or the animal might be adopted, only to be returned by the new guardian as soon as the problem behavior starts. This makes it even harder for the shelter to find that animal a suitable home. People surrendering an animal with behavior issues don’t want to hurt their animal’s chances of adoption from the shelter, so they may mislead shelter staff and explain the surrender as due to allergies or a move. Sometimes the problem is one of inappropriate expectations: “Cat isn’t friendly enough,” or “Dog needs too much attention.” Most behavioral issues can be corrected, but people may lack the knowledge or commitment needed to do the work. But more often they are common dog and cat issues like inappropriate elimination, destructiveness, barking or meowing, or not getting along with other animals in the home.
Behavioral problems can be very serious, like biting or aggression in dogs. In other words, the move often isn’t the real issue.īehavioral problems are the most common reason why people give up their dogs, and they are the second most common reason for cats. One study showed that more than half of the people surrendering animals because of moving also report behavior problems. “Found cat in apartment next door after neighbor moved out.”īut all too often the move is just an excuse.
“Moving out of state and cannot take cat.” The paperwork for each animal tells the story: Moving is a frequently given reason for surrender. Some of them never make it out of the shelter-they are scared or unfriendly, and potential adopters pass them by. Often these animals are elderly and don’t adapt well to the shelter environment. Saddest of all is when people die without having made arrangements for their companions. Many people don’t know about the importance of advance planning for their animal family, and so their animal companions end up in the shelter. Sometimes people are separated from their animal companions because they become too sick to care for them. Perhaps someone with a severe cat allergy joins the household, and the family doesn’t realize that these allergies can often be treated or managed. Sometimes people surrender animals because they think it’s the only possible solution. He was just 5 years old, and I wondered for weeks afterward if anything could have prevented his abandonment. Eventually the shelter staff made the difficult but humane decision to end his suffering by euthanizing him. He handled his new world very well at first, but as the weeks turned into months, he became irritable and unhappy. We had lots of other cats available, and the tuxedo cat wasn’t adopted quickly. I remember one handsome, friendly black-and-white tuxedo cat who was dropped off at the shelter a while ago. A lot of strays come in the door, but the animals who really touch me are the ones they call the “owner surrenders.” These are the animals who had a home and lost it, and over the years I’ve tried to understand why people abandon their animal companions. I’ve been an animal shelter volunteer for more than 10 years.