The Fountain Report’s August 9 edition presented a compelling article about pet adoptions declining, which should serve as a wake-up call for the pet industry. We owe a thanks to Hill’s Pet Nutrition for its 2024 State of Pet Health Adoption Report and Shelter Animals Count Mid-Year Analysis. Here are key takeaways:
- Strays and owner relinquishments are down (good thing), but animals are staying longer in shelters, sadly affecting euthanasia numbers.
- Potential pet owners are shying away from adoptions due to costs of pet ownership, misperceptions about available pets, and lack of post-adoptions resources and support for owners.
Shelters consistently provide 25-30% of dogs for American households. They perform hard work to serve the dogs in their custody with insufficient resources while trying to meet the needs of potential pet owners. Some families want dogs unavailable in shelters, specific breeds for example, and future articles will address this challenge. But one problem shelters cannot control is the rising cost of pet ownership, mainly Veterinary care. That’s where the pet industry and Veterinary profession needs to engage.
Be assured that wealthier Americans are able to find the dogs they want and secure Veterinary care when needed. A national survey in 2015 by Moore Information for the Pet Leadership Council established that approximately 43% of American households own dogs, and the percentage of ownership was equal at the high end and low end of incomes per households. So there’s no difference in the aspirations of low-income Americans to enjoy dogs and the human-animal bond. What the shortage of veterinarians and Veterinary technicians/nurses now triggers is a rising cost factor restraining lower-income households from adopting dogs. Look at The Fountain Report’s weekly clinic data and you’ll see a drop in visits alongside rising costs per visit.
This basic economic principle (higher costs/lower demand) affects pet healthcare the same as any corner of our economy. Shortages exact a price. Yet we still see angry articles challenging the shortage and worrying that new Veterinary schools will produce a glut of veterinarians: the same argument we saw back in 2010-2014. I debated “doom and gloom” critics back then and history appears to be repeating itself.
Difficulties in accessing care means fewer households are willing to gamble on owning a dog . . . for ethical reasons that we all should recognize. Whether it’s concern for low-income families (often diverse) or fears that financial returns for Veterinary practices and professionals will start to dip, now is the time for readers to get engaged in some manner to attack shortages and expand access to care. Shortages have a way of merging the interests of the left and the right.