1. © 2012 ASPCA ®. All Rights Reserved. Big Dog Relinquishment…Why are they relinquished? Emily Weiss, Ph.D. CAAB Vice President Shelter Research and Development ASPCA

2. 2 © 2012 ASPCA ®. All Rights Reserved.

3. 3 WHO IS AT RISK OF ENTERING SHELTERS? AND… WHO IS LESS LIKELY TO LEAVE ALIVE?

4. 4 © 2012 ASPCA ®. All Rights Reserved.

5. 5

6. 6 WHY?

7. 7 © 2012 ASPCA ®. All Rights Reserved. Big Dog Relinquishment Survey Survey developed by Dr.s Slater, Zawistowski, Scarlett and Weiss one on one interview to delve into the reasons for relinquishment and what could have allowed them to keep the dog in the home Published in Animals (4) 2014

8. 8 © 2012 ASPCA ®. All Rights Reserved. Survey designed to get at the actionable…

9. 9 © 2012 ASPCA ®. All Rights Reserved. Washington DC – The first data set Data collected late summer 2012 88 dogs in the sample 51% are reported as or appear to be ‘bully type’ dogs 60% of the dogs were obtained for free while 15% were bought for between $100-$200 5 dogs in the sample were reported to be purebred

10. 10 © 2012 ASPCA ®. All Rights Reserved. Vet Visits in the last year

11. 11 © 2012 ASPCA ®. All Rights Reserved.

12. 12 © 2012 ASPCA ®. All Rights Reserved. Where did you obtain the dog?

13. 13 © 2012 ASPCA ®. All Rights Reserved. Has the dog been S/N?

14. 14 © 2012 ASPCA ®. All Rights Reserved. What they said… Loveable Loves to be hugged

15. 15 © 2012 ASPCA ®. All Rights Reserved. What they said… Loves Kids Loves to play

16. 16 © 2012 ASPCA ®. All Rights Reserved. What they said… He Loves to have his belly rubbed

17. 17 © 2012 ASPCA ®. All Rights Reserved. Changing Perspective

18. 18 © 2012 ASPCA ®. All Rights Reserved. How long have you been thinking of bringing him to the shelter?

19. 19 © 2012 ASPCA ®. All Rights Reserved. Could something have helped?

20. 20 © 2012 ASPCA ®. All Rights Reserved. What could have helped?

21. 21 © 2012 ASPCA ®. All Rights Reserved.

22. 22 © 2012 ASPCA ®. All Rights Reserved. NYC Data

23. 23 © 2012 ASPCA ®. All Rights Reserved. A few details… Data collected 2012 and 2013 77 dogs in sample – 15 are not bully type 27 reported pure bred bully types 17 of those that owned the bully types paid $100 or more for their dogs – with 6 paying $400 or more 30 dogs reported to be purebred

24. 24 © 2012 ASPCA ®. All Rights Reserved. Where did you obtain your dog?

25. 25 © 2012 ASPCA ®. All Rights Reserved. Has the dog been S/N?

26. 26 © 2012 ASPCA ®. All Rights Reserved. Breed by where obtained

27. 27 © 2012 ASPCA ®. All Rights Reserved. What could have helped you keep the dog?

28. 28 © 2012 ASPCA ®. All Rights Reserved. More what could have helped…

29. 29 © 2012 ASPCA ®. All Rights Reserved. Comparing the Cities

30. 30 © 2012 ASPCA ®. All Rights Reserved. Bully type vs non bully type

31. 31 © 2012 ASPCA ®. All Rights Reserved. Purebred in NYC vs DC

32. 32 © 2012 ASPCA ®. All Rights Reserved.

33. 33 © 2012 ASPCA ®. All Rights Reserved. Drivers for relinquishment

34. 34 © 2012 ASPCA ®. All Rights Reserved. Busting a few myths… A large percentage of those relinquishing had a household income higher than 34k The majority of relinquishers at least completed high school Most relinquishers had been considering relinquishment for at least a week Cultural ID did not impact likelihood to S/N

35. 35 © 2012 ASPCA ®. All Rights Reserved. Changing Perspective

36. 36 © 2012 ASPCA ®. All Rights Reserved.