Earlier this week, I posted a photo of our KC Pet Project staff celebrating success after a mega-adoption event in which we adopted out 281 animals during a three-day weekend.
The majority of people who saw the photo loved the celebration photo, the idea of animals being adopted from the shelter and the shelter being (at least nearly) empty. And this is how I hope and want them to feel.
However, as I saw the photo getting shared around social media, it was inevitable that questions came up. These questions have been popping up for several years -- and have gradually decreased over time, But the questions are out there and I thought it was a good time to address them.
The questions are all similar to the following theme, and that is, are pets that get adopted in low-cost and mega-adoption events going to good homes?
How do we know the pets are going to good homes?
How do we know they are not just going to be returned?
And how do we know they are not going to be abused?
And I think they are fair questions -- because, while getting animals out of the shelter is a good thing, if the animals are going into crappy situations, then it sort of makes it all for naught.
For starters, during Mega-Adoption events, KC Pet Project takes adopters through the same adoption process as during a normal day. We talk to the adopters about what they are looking for in a pet. We then try to match a pet with their home life and lifestyle. And we ask a lot of questions of adopters -- but mostly to help fill gaps in knowledge they need for the pet to be successful in their home or to be sure we're making a good match -- not in an effort to trip them up into saying something "wrong" that would cause us to stop the adoption. In short, we use our normal discussion-based open-adoption principals.
As for discounted adoption pricing and mega adoption events -- the research and our experience says they work to get pets adopted, without the feared unintended consequences of poor care or abandonment. There has been a lot of research done in animal welfare on FREE adoptions (which KCPP has never done, mostly because it doesn't seem that a $25 or $35 adoption fee is a significant barrier), but the information on free adoptions would certainly be relevant to discounted ones.
So what does the research say?
One Maddies Fund study noted that 93% of dogs and 95% of cats adopted at a FREE adoption event remained in their homes 6-12 months after the adoption event and 94% of adopters noted a "strong" or "very strong" attachment to their pet. So the price of the adoption fee did not make the adopter value the pet any less -- in the same way that several of my pets have come to me for free and rescued off the street -- and I love them all.
The study concluded that "successful adoptions do not require a fee, and free adoption promotions may increase adoptions without compromising the quality of the animal's life."
Another report from Journal of Applied Animal Welfare Science (and supported by Maddie's Fund and the ASPCA) noted that eliminating adoption fees for cats does not devalue the animal in the eyes of the adopter, and that free adult cat adoption programs could "dramatically impact the lives of thousands of shelter cats who would otherwise reside in a shelter for months or be euthanized."
And now with many shelters around the country actively promoting low-cost adoptions, there has been zero evidence that such adoption promotions attract animal abusers to shelters. And let's face it, why would someone come in, show their ID, and adopt a mircochipped pet that they then intend to abuse when that abused animal will be tracked back to them? It doesn't make sense, and the evidence suggests it either doesn't happen, or is exceptionally uncommon.
So while concerns are good -- we all need to be good stewards of our adoptable pets -- we also need to rely on the best data available. And that research tells us that low-cost adoptions save lives without sacrificing the quality of love and care a pet can expect to receive in the home. It's the best of both worlds.
And it's by adopting being aggressive with our adoption policies and programs that KC Pet Project has been able to more than triple the number of adoptions since taking over shelter operations, and allowed us to increase the percentage of animals saved from 38% in 2008 to 94% in 2015. And that's more success worth celebrating.
For more reading:
Animal Sheltering Magazine - Free to Good Home (this article also gives a lot of ideas on how to make up revenue shortfalls from "free" adoptions)
Best Friends Animal Society - Reduced-Fee Adoption Promotions: Concerns and Responses
Best Friends Animal Society - High-volume adoption model controversy
Charleston Animal Society - Fee-waived adoptions save lives (this 8 minute video is really, really good)
Photo from the 2013 ASPCA Mega-Match-athon adoption event.
When shelters are empty what happens then? Do they ship in dogs from elsewhere? import dogs from overseas.. bills still have to be paid..what should shelters do when they are empty? or nearly so
Posted by: jan | October 13, 2016 at 03:42 PM
KC Pet Project is an open admission shelter serving Kansas City, MO -- and a population of half a million people. With an average intake of 27 animals per day coming in from the community, it doesn't take long for those kennels to fill up quickly :( Therefore, we have to treat each day with a since of urgency in saving lives.
Posted by: Brent | October 13, 2016 at 03:56 PM
Hi,
I would also like to point out something that was left out of the article. I have suggested doing this at the shelter I volunteer at, and they'll often tell me "If they can't pay an adoption fee, how can they afford to have a pet at all?"
This is an unfair and untrue assumption. People shouldn't assume that the only reason someone adopts a pet at a shelter on a "free" day (or very low cost) is because they can't afford the fee, thus meaning they can't afford future pet care.
One of my cats I got free from a shelter last year. After adopting her and bringing her to my vet for her first vaccinations, it was discovered she had coccidia (thanks for telling me!). I paid a lot to treat her, and she was tested and recovered. Adoption fees are not indicative of the care an animal will receive post adoption.
Posted by: Liz | October 13, 2016 at 06:53 PM
Great point Liz. We've seen little indication that the financial well-being of our adopters drops when we do adoption specials -- or that having a lot of $$ is an indicator of the love and compassion people have for their pets.
Posted by: Brent | October 14, 2016 at 10:02 AM
Exactly! Thanks Brent!
Posted by: Liz | October 14, 2016 at 01:32 PM
I'm with Liz who suggested that just because there is no adoption fee doesn't mean that likely people will adopt who can't afford an animal or that won't be excellent pet owners.
I'm fairly new to the animal welfare community, to advocacy, to rescue and to how animal shelters are run. In the five years I've been an active part of this community I have noticed, sadly, that some rescuers and shelter administrators have the idea that if someone is low income that they shouldn't have a pet because they can't afford some of the things that people who have more money can; therefore that means that their pets 'will' suffer at some point due to their inability to pay for services or goods for their pets. I believe that today little by little that 'assumption' is being dis-proven by people like the HSUS's 'Pets for Life' program who are finding low income people love their pets as much as anyone else, that they want the same excellent quality of life for their pets as anyone else and that given a chance they prove to be excellent pet owners.
In my personal opinion it serves the animals and the community much better to include low income people in the adoption process and to put into place low/no cost programs to assist them be responsible pet owners. Discounting an entire segment of the population because we don't 'believe' they have the same ethics when it comes to keeping a pet as we do is not good for dogs that end up euthanized because they weren't adopted and it's not good for the community.
Just my humble opinion...
Posted by: Cheryl Huerta | October 14, 2016 at 02:09 PM
By adopting from a shelter, you are providing an animal with the second chance they deserve. Many have been rescued from horrific circumstances such as cruelty, neglect, and abandonment, or quite simply their owners were no longer able to look after them due to illness or a change in the situation.
Posted by: josph | December 29, 2016 at 01:43 AM
What a great picture! Thank you for sharing with us :)
Take care,
Henry
Posted by: Henry | March 07, 2017 at 04:20 PM
Guess I have a different opinion. Pets cost money....Ive seen so many suffer because their owners couldn't afford treatment.
Posted by: Gail | June 03, 2018 at 12:11 AM
Hi Brent, I'm just seeing this post and I'm thrilled you wrote it. I watch shelters and rescues in my area adopt out dogs to most anyone who comes in for a dog available for adoption. All of the Clear the Shelter events are maddening and my thoughts go to the dogs that will end up in abusive homes, neglected, abandoned on the street, or returned (if the organization accepts returns). I have been vocal about this because dogs are not being saved if they are placed in homes without conducting the necessary due diligence and following up after adoptions. I understand that shelters are full but that does not make it okay to send out dogs to their deaths (or to abusive homes, etc.).
Posted by: Shana | March 14, 2020 at 12:23 PM