What Happens to Shelter Dogs? Part 2. Comparing Three Melbourne Welfare Shelters for Nonhuman Animals

Although the characteristics of dogs admitted to animal welfare shelters have been described previously, few studies have compared the statistics of different welfare shelters. The existing studies compare shelters that differ operationally and philo-sophically on factors such as whether they perform euthanasia or whether the shelter receives both impounded and relinquished animals. This study aims to determine whether differences in admission and outcome data exist between shelters when these issues are constant. The study sampled 3 metropolitan Australian shelters over a 12-month period. All shelters sampled serve both as municipal pounds and welfare shelters, perform euthanasia as required, and operate within the relatively small, cul-turally homogeneous environment of Melbourne. The study observed significant dif-ferences between shelters regarding the admission characteristics of the dogs, length of stay, and outcomes. The identification of these differences may enable us to estab-lish “best-practice ” procedures capable of implementation elsewhere. The differ-ences identified in the reasons given for relinquishment between locations also may have policy and educational implications for animal control agencies. In today’s western society, dogs who are companion animals (pets) provide hu-mans with companionship in at least 40 % of Australian, 38 % of American, and 34 % of British homes (BIS Shrapnel Global Marketing Intelligence and Fore-casting, 1999, pp. 9–15). Unfortunately, problems of dog overpopulation, stray-ing, and canine behavior problems accompany such widespread dog guardian-ship (ownership). In many countries, there is a vocal antidog lobby. Strayin