Three Things to Know
A study of over 2,500 pet relinquishment records from a Colorado, U.S., shelter spanning 2018 to 2023 showed that behavior issues were the most frequently reported reason (28%), followed by housing or moving-related challenges (18%) and an inability to care for the animal (16%).
Notably, behavior problems accounted for a striking 59% of all pet returns. Furthermore, the specific nature of these behavior concerns varied by species: dog owners primarily cited aggression, while cat owners reported social conflicts as the major issue.
Although the general distribution of relinquishment reasons exhibited relative stability between 2018 and 2023, the percentage of owners citing an inability to care for their pets almost doubled in 2022 and 2023 compared to 11% in 2019. This surge likely correlates with the increased return-to-office mandates during that period.
For Dog Welfare Practitioners
The findings of this study reinforce the intuitive understanding within the dog shelter community: behavioral challenges are the most prevalent reason for owner surrender. This remains true despite a notable increase in post-pandemic reports of owners struggling to provide pet care. Consequently, a comprehensive expansion of support services by dog welfare organizations (shelters, trainers, and veterinarians) is imperative. The substantial proportion of behavior-related returns necessitates a thorough review by individual shelters, to assess their return cases and the effectiveness of their post-adoption protocols, as a previous study showed that a majority of dog owners did not utilize the post-adoption behavioral counseling offered.
Furthermore, the significant post-pandemic rise in pet care inability reveals a critical lack of accessible support mechanisms. Creative solutions, including subsidized pet daycare and community-based dog-walking initiatives, should be explored to alleviate the burdens faced by pet owners.
The Full Picture
Millions of pets are relinquished annually in the U.S., highlighting the need to better understand the reasons behind this behavior to inform prevention strategies. Previous research on relinquishment highlights reasons including pet behavior issues, owner health, housing restrictions, and financial constraints. But findings were inconsistent and vary across studies.
This study, titled “Investigating the Reasons behind Companion Animal Relinquishment: A Systematic Content Analysis of Shelter Records for Cats and Dogs, 2018–2023”, introduces a content analysis approach to systematically categorize relinquishment reasons from shelter data. It aims to address three main questions:
- Species Differences – Are the reasons for relinquishing dogs different from those for cats?
- First-Time vs. Return Relinquishments – Do reasons differ between initial surrenders and animals returned post-adoption?
- Temporal Shifts – Have the primary reasons for relinquishment changed over time, especially in the context of societal disruptions like the COVID-19 pandemic?
Study Methods
This study used owner relinquishment records from the Humane Society of the Pikes Peak Region (HSPPR), an open-admission shelter in Colorado. Between 2018 and 2023, the shelter received 20,000–30,000 animals annually, including an average of 3109 dogs and 3357 cats per year. The time frame was chosen to capture recent data and societal changes, including the COVID-19 pandemic and related economic pressures.
Each voluntary owner relinquishment created an electronic record including the date, type (first-time or return), species, and reason. Researchers analyzed an average of 472.67 records per year, totaling 7% of all owner relinquishments during the study period. Dogs accounted for approximately 49% of the analyzed entries.
Content Analysis Approach
The study used formal content analysis to identify categories of relinquishment reasons and to classify each record accordingly. Three individuals (no ties to animal welfare) first reviewed hundreds of randomly selected records to identify recurring themes. They then created a pilot codebook with clearly defined, mutually exclusive categories (e.g., “financial reasons”, “animal behavior”). The codebook was refined through testing, ensuring:
- Most records fit into a single category.
- Categories were clear and non-overlapping.
- Coders could apply them consistently.
Final coding followed a two-step process:
- Each record was coded into one of 13 primary categories based on the first stated reason for relinquishment only.
- If the category was “Behavior Issues”, coders assigned a secondary behavioral sub-code (A–J).
Study Results
Between 2018 and 2023, behavior issues emerged as the most frequently cited reason, accounting for 28% of all analyzed entries. This was followed by housing or moving-related challenges (18%), an inability to care for the animal (16%), having too many pets (10%), financial difficulties (6%), and owner allergies (5%).
Among the animals relinquished due to behavior issues, further analysis showed that aggression was the most commonly reported behavior problem, mentioned in 32% of such cases. Social conflict with other animals followed closely at 28%, with soiling (13%), excessive energy (9%), and destructive behaviors (6%) also appearing relatively frequently.
Species Differences
While some reasons — such as housing or moving, inability to care, and behavior issues — were common to both cats and dogs, notable differences were observed:
- Owners were more likely to cite “too many pets” (16% cats, 4% dogs), allergies (6% cats, 4% dogs), or no available owner (4% cats, 1% dogs) when relinquishing cats.
- On the other hand, dogs were more often relinquished for behavior problems (21% cats, 35% dogs) and because their owners felt unable to care for them (13% cats, 19% dogs).
Specific behavioral issues also varied by species.
- Dogs were more frequently given up due to aggression (26% cats, 35% dogs), excessive energy (3% cats, 13% dogs), escape attempts (1% cats, 7% dogs), and destructive behavior (4% cats, 8% dogs).
- Cats were more often relinquished due to social conflict (37% cats, 22% dogs) and soiling problems (23% cats, 7% dogs).
Overall, these trends mirror complaints reported by pet owners and veterinarians.
First Time Relinquishments vs. Returns
The study also compared first-time relinquishments to returns — cases in which an animal had previously been adopted and was being returned to the shelter. Behavior issues stood out as the dominant reason for returns, accounting for 59% of such cases compared to just 22% of first-time relinquishments. Returns were also slightly more likely to involve animals who were sick.
In contrast, first-time relinquishments were more frequently attributed to factors such as financial hardship, housing or moving difficulties, an inability to care for the pet, and having too many animals. When focusing on specific behavioral issues, soiling was more commonly cited among first-time surrenders than returns.
Together, these findings suggest that while a variety of reasons lead people to relinquish their pets, behavior problems — particularly aggression and social conflict — play a major role, especially in cases where adopted animals are returned to the shelter. Differences between species and relinquishment types highlight the importance of tailoring interventions to address the specific challenges faced by pet owners. This pattern also underscores the value of behavioral interventions in shelters, post-adoption support services, and foster care strategies that give animals more time to adjust before adoption.
Temporal Shift
Between 2018 and 2023, the overall pattern of reasons for pet relinquishment remained relatively stable, with behavior issues, housing or moving challenges, inability to care, and having too many pets consistently being the most commonly cited reasons. Despite expectations and results from another study conducted during the pandemic, economic and housing disruptions during the pandemic did not shift the proportion of housing and financial-related surrenders. However, the number of relinquishments overall did increase.
When it came to specific behavioral reasons for relinquishment, such as aggression, social conflict, soiling, and excessive energy, the distribution also did not significantly differ across the years. However, this may be due in part to the relatively small number of behavior-related cases analyzed per year.
Despite this general consistency, statistical analysis revealed certain notable year-to-year variations. In particular, the percentage of owners reporting an inability to care for their pet increased in 2022 and 2023 (19% and 20%, respectively) compared to 11% in 2019. As this category encompasses owners’ reported lack of time, energy, or capacity to care for their pets, the authors speculate that this trend may reflect the broader societal shift back to workplace and outside-the-home routines.
Conclusion
The findings reaffirm the central role of animal behavior and owner circumstances in pet relinquishment and emphasize the need for targeted interventions, especially for addressing behavioral challenges before and after adoption. A notable recent trend was a rise in cases where owners felt unable to care for their pets, possibly linked to post-pandemic lifestyle shifts. The findings support the need for behavioral interventions and post-adoption support, and call for further research across different social and cultural contexts to better prevent unnecessary relinquishment and improve both animal and human welfare.
Miscellaneous
Data From Study:
Shelter Dogs > Reducing Shelter Intake > Reasons for Intake
Year of Publication:
2024
External Link:
Kisley MA, Chung EJ, Levitt H. Investigating the Reasons behind Companion Animal Relinquishment: A Systematic Content Analysis of Shelter Records for Cats and Dogs, 2018–2023. Animals. 2024; 14(17):2606. https://doi.org/10.3390/ani14172606