The Complexities Of Companion Animal Surrender

The difficult decision to surrender a companion animal is likely one that guardians hope never to make. Due to the sensitivity of the subject matter, it’s hardly surprising that little is known about the experience from a guardian’s perspective. In particular, few studies have explored what options guardians consider and what resources they use before ultimately choosing to give up their animal.

In light of this gap, researchers set out to investigate surrender pathways, using the term as a catch-all for any act of transferring ownership of an animal, whether to another person or to an animal shelter. The team relied on latent class analysis, a statistical technique that finds hidden subgroups in a dataset by looking for people who share similar patterns across many variables at once. It’s often used in human health research to avoid oversimplifying nuanced issues, but it has yet to be applied in the context of animal sheltering. Prior studies have typically analyzed surrender factors one at a time, which misses the complex reality of how guardians actually experience and decide on surrender. In this study, latent class analysis allowed the researchers to identify distinct groups of surrendering guardians who might need different kinds of support.

The study consisted of an online survey administered between January and June 2023. To take part, people had to have rehomed a companion animal within the past five years. Participants were recruited over social media, primarily through Facebook rehoming groups and targeted ads. Information about the study was also circulated to rescue groups and shelters.

The survey asked participants for details about their surrendered animal, the circumstances leading to the surrender and its emotional impact, their attitudes towards animal shelters, and any actions they had taken post-surrender, such as acquiring a new animal. Participants also had the opportunity to leave additional comments at the end.

The final sample consisted of 452 participants, split roughly evenly between Canada (47%) and the United States (53%). The majority were women (76%). Dogs were the most commonly surrendered animal (54%), followed by cats (33%). Other animals, such as rabbits, horses, and birds, were surrendered in much smaller numbers and therefore excluded from analysis.

The latent class analysis identified three groups of participants based on their reasons for surrender and length of ownership:

1. Owner Hardships (215 participants): This group showed a greater likelihood of surrendering their animal due to housing and personal issues.
2. New Acquisitions (194 participants): This group was more inclined to surrender due to having too many other animals at home. They also had a higher probability of short-term ownership of their surrendered animal (less than a year) and citing cost-related issues as an additional factor.
3. Behavioral Incompatibility (43 participants): This group was more likely to surrender due to issues involving their animal’s behavior.

The Owner Hardships group had the highest proportion who self-rehomed as their only method (65%), while those in the New Acquisitions group were most likely to relinquish to a shelter as their only or eventual method (28%). The Behavioral Incompatibility group had the highest rate of attempting shelter relinquishment but ending up self-rehoming (39.5%).

The New Acquisitions group was the most likely to have sought assistance to keep their animal (55%), followed by the Owner Hardships group (46%). Only 14% of those in the Behavioral Incompatibility group did the same.

The types of assistance sought varied across groups. The Owner Hardships group was most likely to use part-time care for their animal (49%), while the New Acquisitions group most often tried behavioral support (80%). The Behavioral Incompatibility group were equally likely to seek behavioral, veterinary, and human support (29% each). Interestingly, participants indicated they most often relied on trainers or family and friends for behavioral support as opposed to animal shelters.

The Limits Of Support

Commenting on exhausting part-time care in an attempt to keep their animal, a participant in the Owner Hardships group remarked, “I had friends stay with him but then I ran out of friends to stay with him.” Others expressed similar drawbacks to part-time care: “I used dog walkers and other services…but eventually couldn’t afford them on the regular basis that was needed.”

Most often, friends and family were called upon to provide care for the participant’s animal, suggesting that future studies could focus on the role of social support networks in companion animal caretaking. Additional research on temporary fostering and cooperative-style, multi-family ownership would also be beneficial.

Likewise, other assistance attempts fell short. Some participants recalled going so far as to adjust their work hours before ultimately surrendering their animal. Others expressed that advice from shelters was of little use. Veterinarians were also consulted, but some participants found medication too risky an option: “[I] discussed with [a] vet and tried medication, but [the behavior] was escalating and was unsafe for our kids.”

The Stigma Of Surrender

Surrender tends to have negative connotations. The New Acquisitions group showed the highest concern about being judged for surrendering their animal, with an average rating of 3.3 on a five-point scale (compared to 3.0 for the Owner Hardships group and 2.3 for the Behavioral Incompatibility group). Curiously, this was also the group with the highest rate of shelter relinquishment.

Limitations

This being the first companion animal surrender study to use latent class analysis, limitations are a given. The model was based on the predetermined response options provided in the survey, meaning that other circumstances that lead to surrender could have been missed.

Another drawback was timing. Participants surrendered their animal up to five years prior to the study. Thus, the researchers had to rely on their memories, and time can change what people remember and how they feel. Recruiting guardians with more recent surrender experiences could help reduce this recall bias.

Let’s Stay Together

While this study has the potential to open up the conversation around companion animal surrender, more research is needed to find targeted solutions. In the meantime, the study’s authors suggest that organizations should consider partnering with animal behaviorists and other professionals to identify and offer support to families potentially at risk of surrender. This outreach could be crucial to those who face roadblocks such as cost and accessibility, and could ultimately be the missing link in keeping a companion animal and their family together.