Pet adoption
[1] Euthanasia (also known as putting down or putting to sleep) is another method that has been used when dealing with animals who may suffer from terminal illnesses, injuries, or over-population in shelters, although many veterinarians do not consider this to be an ethical use of their resources for young and healthy animals, while others argue that euthanasia is a more humane option than leaving a pet in a cage for very long periods of time.
[2] Homes cannot always be found, however, and euthanasia is often used for the excess animals to make room for newer pets unless the organization has a no-kill policy.
The Humane Society of the United States estimates that 2.4 million healthy, adoptable cats and dogs are euthanized each year in the US because of a lack of homes.
Best Friends Animal Society is the largest no-kill shelter in the United States who adopts policies such as "Save Them All".
[citation needed] No-kill shelters are usually run by groups that have volunteers or individuals with enough space to foster pets until a permanent home can be found.
Social influences, such as breed popularity trends, and demographic factors, including household size and the presence of children, significantly affect the likelihood of dog ownership.
Understanding these factors can help develop strategies to encourage responsible adoption practices and reduce the rates of dog relinquishment to shelters.
Shelters, pounds, and rescue organizations can refuse to supply pets to people whom they deem unable to provide a suitable home.
[6] In Canada, reputable animal shelters or humane societies go through an extensive process to ensure that potential pets and their respective families are well-suited and prepared for their lives ahead.
Shelters and humane societies remain connected[clarification needed] with information packages on why pets are unwanted, what to expect in the first weeks of pet adoption, guides, recommendations, specific behavior training requests, and follow-up calls to ensure that everyone is satisfied with the adoption.
Some studies have suggested that: "BDB is a product of the social cognition phenomena known as 'base rate fallacy': black dogs are only more common in shelters because there are more of them (the dark color gene is dominant).
"[13] "[A] study on dogs held at two no-kill shelters in New York State found that color was not implicated in length of stay.
"[17][13] "[S]ome research found no evidence for BDB (Trevathan-Minnis et al., 2021),[22] instead determining that purebred status and size matter more.
"[13][16] According to the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) (2018), being responsible for a pet requires commitment and should be considered a privilege.
Similar to having children, the pet depends on the owner for their needs such as food and shelter, exercise and mental stimulation, and veterinary care.
[24] The term can also apply to dogs that are found as strays, surrendered by owners for a variety of reasons, including relationship breakdowns, moving home where the owner is unable or unwilling to take their pets, or elderly people who are not permitted to take their dog(s) into a nursing home.
