Three Things to Know
High-volume, open-admission municipal shelters are often perceived as having difficulty achieving high live release rates. To challenge this notion and identify factors associated with higher release rates and shorter stays, researchers conducted a study.
The Pima Animal Care Center in Arizona achieved a remarkable live release rate of nearly 90%. Consistent with previous research, the study found that younger, smaller dogs had higher release rates and shorter stays. “Blockhead-type” dogs were less likely to be released. Additionally, dogs with major health or behavioral concerns had lower chances of rehoming.
Surprisingly, the study revealed that fostering and even unsuccessful adoptions positively impacted a dog’s chances of rehoming. Furthermore, the study found that even when owners brought their dogs in for euthanasia, discussions often led to a reclassification, resulting in a 20% chance of saving the dog.
The Full Picture
High-volume, open-admission municipal shelters, which often handle large numbers of unselected animals and face resource limitations, are typically thought to struggle with achieving high live release rates compared to selective, limited-admission shelters.
This study, titled “Factors Associated with High Live Release for Dogs at a Large, Open-Admission, Municipal Shelter,” aims to identify factors linked to higher live release rates and shorter stays for dogs in a high-volume, open-admission shelter. By doing so, the study challenges the common belief that such shelters are inherently limited in their ability to achieve high live release rates.
Study Methods
The Pima Animal Care Center (PACC) in Tucson, Arizona, is an open-admissions shelter that handles approximately 19,000 pets annually from Pima County. Roughly two-thirds of the animals brought to PACC are dogs, primarily strays, accounting for an annual intake rate of 12.5 dogs per 1,000 residents. PACC operates as a county Health Services department, with an annual budget exceeding $9 million, supplemented by donations for veterinary care. The shelter employs approximately 95 staff members, including 18 contracted workers, and collaborates with over 1,500 volunteers, foster caregivers, and 100+ rescue partners to facilitate rehoming efforts.
The analysis utilized 21,409 canine intake records (between January, 2015 and December, 2016) from the shelter’s database. Key variables considered in the analysis included sex, age, weight, sterilization status, intake type (e.g., stray, owner surrender), and outcome type (e.g., adoption, foster care, euthanasia). Breed designations were based on staff or owner observations, without independent verification such as DNA analysis.
Study Results
Overall Live Release and Length of Stay (LOS)
The dataset analyzed 21,409 dog intakes, representing 18,846 individual dogs eligible for rehoming. Notably, 12% of these dogs had multiple intakes. Overall, the shelter achieved an 88.6% live release rate. Dogs with multiple intakes were more likely to be puppies, blockheaded breeds, or females.
The shelter’s near-90% live release rate for dogs with favorable characteristics is a substantial improvement over historical trends and the performance of other shelters with similar intake volumes, which ranged from 32.7% to 86.2% live release rates.
The average time dogs spent at the shelter before being rehomed was 10 days.
Rescue transfers played a crucial role in managing shelter capacity. A total of 2,882 dogs were transferred to rescue partners, spending an average of 8.2 days in the shelter before transfer. This strategic approach reduced the total number of animal care days by 13,409, compared to if these dogs had remained in the shelter until adoption. This highlights the effectiveness of rescue transfers in alleviating shelter overcrowding.
Factors Affecting Live Release Rate
Animal Characteristics
Live release rates varied by age, with puppies (92.2%) and juveniles (91.8%) having the highest rates. These rates gradually decreased with increasing age, reaching 84.7% for older adults. Dogs without age estimates in the system had a lower live release rate of 76.4%. Analyses indicated that older adults were about half as likely to be released compared to puppies. Similarly, the likelihood of rehoming within seven days decreased with age.
Physical appearances also influenced outcomes. Black and non-black dogs had identical live release rates (88.5%). Small dogs had the highest live release rate at 93.9%, while medium, large, and giant dogs had lower rates (83.5%, 89.1%, and 85.3%, respectively).
“Blockhead-type” dogs, representing 28.4% of intakes, faced lower odds of live release (80.5%) compared to non-blockhead types (91.7%), even after adjusting for other factors. They were also less likely to be adopted within a week.
These findings aligned with expectations. Small dogs and puppies had the highest live release rates, while giant-sized dogs and male dogs were less likely to be released. The impact of risk factors like age and size was more pronounced in older dogs, with large and giant-sized dogs experiencing the most negative effects.
Female dogs (90.5%) had a higher live release rate than male dogs (87.4%). Even after adjusting for other factors, male dogs were significantly less likely to be released than females. While statistically significant, researchers concluded that this difference may have limited practical importance.
Intake Type
The study examined live release rates by intake type, revealing that owner-surrendered dogs and stray dogs had similar live release rates of 88.6% and 87.4%, respectively. When strays reclaimed by their owners (19.1% of stray intakes) were excluded, the live release rate for remaining strays dropped to 83.7%.
Medical and Behavioural Concerns
The study found that the severity of health or behavioral concerns was strongly linked to decreased odds of live release, even when considering other factors.
Dogs classified as “normal” with no health or behavioral concerns had the highest live release rate of 92.7%. In contrast, dogs with minor concerns had a lower live release rate of 83.7%, and those with major concerns had a significantly lower rate of 57.8%. Most major concerns (80.4%) were health-related, while behavioral issues, such as aggression, were less common, accounting for only 1.5% of all intakes. Overall, 3.7% of dogs presented with behavioral concerns.
Summary of Observations at Intake
The study emphasized the interplay of multiple factors in determining live release probabilities. Dogs with the most favorable profile—small, female, non-blockhead type, without medical or behavioral concerns, and of a single breed—had nearly guaranteed live release outcomes. However, adverse characteristics, such as blockhead appearance, male sex, large adult size, particularly impacted adult dogs. Adding major concerns to this profile significantly reduced the probability of live release, with adult dogs having a 50% chance of live release compared to 90% for juveniles and puppies.
Remedial Solutions
Utilize Foster Care
Temporary foster care significantly improved the odds of live release at the shelter. Dogs returned from foster care exhibited exceptionally high live release rates at 98.1%. They had a fivefold higher likelihood of live release compared to other owner-surrendered dogs. For adult dogs, excluding puppies, the odds of live release increased over 20-fold after foster care.
While foster programs have been widely used in shelters, their application often lacks formality and rigorous research. This study advocates for further evaluation and standardization of foster care programs, exploring their scalability, financial feasibility, and the ability to maintain high standards of care and safety for dogs outside the shelter environment.
Don’t be Afraid of Unsuccessful Adoptions
Dogs returned from unsuccessful adoptions within 30 days also had an exceptionally high live release rate of 96.9%, with most re-adopted (85.2%) or placed in foster care or rescue (9.3%). Their median length of stay was just four days. Contrary to the negative connotation of “failed adoptions,” these returns did not negatively impact the dogs’ outcomes. Instead, the temporary home experience may have provided valuable insights into the dogs’ behavior and needs, facilitating quicker subsequent adoptions, often within a week of return. These findings align with previous research showing that shelter-adopted dogs may have better outcomes than those acquired from other sources.
Be Conservative with Euthanasia
Of the 2,631 dogs brought in for owner-requested euthanasia, 29.6% were reclassified and made available for adoption after intake discussions. Among these reclassified dogs, 71.4% were ultimately rehomed through adoption, rescue, or foster care. This saved 21.1% of the original euthanasia-intended cohort.
Many of these dogs had manageable medical or behavioral issues rather than terminal or intractable conditions. This raises questions about whether owners lacked awareness of available support or misjudged the severity of their pets’ conditions.
Conclusion
The study underscores that no single combination of attributes, such as age, size, sex, appearance, or health at intake, automatically prevents placement. Adoption decisions are complex, aligning with previous research indicating that no single factor determines outcomes.
This study highlights the potential for saving the majority of dogs eligible for rehoming in a large, municipal, open-admission shelter like PACC. It also reveals that some dogs initially surrendered for euthanasia can, with proper evaluation, be rehomed instead. The findings emphasize the positive impact of foster programs, particularly for adult dogs, in improving the odds of live release.
Additionally, dogs returned after adoption exhibited a high likelihood of subsequent live release, suggesting that the temporary experience in a home environment is not detrimental. Instead, it may function similarly to a foster situation, providing valuable insights into the dog’s behavior and needs, thereby facilitating successful rehoming.
Miscellaneous
Data From Study:
Shelter Dogs > More Humane Future > Minimizing Euthanasia
Year of Publication:
2018
External Link:
Patronek GJ, Crowe A. Factors Associated with High Live Release for Dogs at a Large, Open-Admission, Municipal Shelter. Animals. 2018; 8(4):45. https://doi.org/10.3390/ani8040045