Outcome of Pets Adopted During a Waived-Fee Adoption Event:
Maddie’s Matchmaker Adoptathon
Sandra MacArthur, BS; Julie K. Levy, DVM, PhD, DACVIM; Patricia A. Dingman, MS, Sylvia J. Tucker, BS
Maddie’s Shelter Medicine Program, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida
Outcome of Cats No Longer in Home
80%
In New
Home
32%
Outcome of Dogs No Longer in Home
Attachment Level Reported by Adopters
Dog Adopters (n=334)
90%
70%
50%
40%
30%
Return to
Shelter
31%
10%
In New
Home
35%
Gender
Age
Number of Children in the Number of Cats in Home Prior to Number of Dogs in
Home
Adopting
Home Prior to
Adopting
Over 200,000
150,000-199,999
100,000-149,999
75,000-99,999
49,999-74,999
35,000-49,999
25,000-34,999
15,000-24,999
Under 15,000
More than 2
2
1
0
More than 4
4
3
2
1
0
More than 3
3
2
1
0
65 and Over (47)
55-64 (57-48)
45-54 (67-58)
35-44 (77-68)
22-34 (91-78)
Disappeare
d or Ran
Away
6%
70%
Not in Home Cats
60%
50%
40%
30%
Female
0%
In Home Cats
Not in Home Dogs
60%
20%
Euthanized
or Pased
Away
28%
In Home Dogs
80%
Percent of Adopters
Disappeare
d or Ran
Away
2%
21 and Under (92-under
The purpose of this study was to assess the outcome of
pets adopted during a waived-fee adoption event in the
San Francisco Bay Area in June 2011.
Cat Adopters (n=470)
Male
Campaigns to increase shelter pet adoptions by
reducing or eliminating adoption fees are controversial
due to concern they may increase risk of poor care or
abandonment. However, little data exist to correlate the
payment of a fee with adoption success.
90%
Return to
Shelter
37%
Percent of Adopters
Animal shelters can reduce shelter euthanasia by
increasing the number and speed of pet adoptions.
Improving adoption efficiency can control the number
of pets in shelters at any given time, resulting in less
crowding, stress, operating costs, staff fatigue, and risk
of infectious disease transmission in the shelter..
Euthanized
or Pased
Away
29%
Adopter Demographics
Annual Household Income
20%
10%
0%
Very Strong
Strong
Moderate
Weak
Very Weak
Attachment Level
Post-Adoption Healthcare of Adopted Pets
In Home Cats (n=796)
In Home Dogs (n=418)
Not In Home Cats (n=41)
Not In Home Dogs (n=32)
100%
Survey Instrument
A survey regarding the adoption experience was sent to
all 1,928 pet adopters. Pet and owner characteristics
and pet lifestyle were compared between adopters who
still had their pets 6-12 months post-adoption and those
who did not.
For each pet adoption, the following information was
collected:
• Pet demographics
• Adopter demographics
• Adoption experience
• Pet medical/behavior conditions
• Pet lifestyle
Data Collection and Analysis
Survey responses were audited for completeness and
internal consistency as they were submitted.
Respondents were contacted for clarification if
necessary. The results for dogs and cats were evaluated
separately.
Pet lifestyle and healthcare were compared between
adopters who retained and did not retain their pets
using the Chi square test, and odds rations and 95%
confidence intervals were calculated. P<0.05 was
considered significant.
Percent of Pets
80%
• The vast majority of pets adopted without a fee
remained in the home.
60%
40%
20%
0%
Yes
No
Wears a Collar with Contact
Information
Yes
No
Microchipped
Yes
No
Visited Veterinarian
Yes
No
Receives Flea Treatment
Yes
No
Receives Heartworm Prevention
Yes
No
Attended Training Classes
Type of Healthcare
• A total of 57% of adopters completed the
survey, reporting that 95% of cats and 93% of
dogs were still in the home.
• Pets were no longer in the home due to return
to the shelter (1.8% cats; 2.2% dogs), rehoming
(1.6%; 2.4%), death (1.4%; 2.0%), or going
missing (0.1%; 0.4%).
• Strong or very strong attachment to the pet was
reported by 94% of adopters.
• Most pets lived predominantly indoors (95%;
93%), slept on the family bed (62%; 44%), and
had been to a veterinarian (74%; 87%).
• There were no significant differences between the two groups based on pet attachment level, postadoption lifestyle or healthcare, or perception of the adoption event.
• Owners of both retained and non-retained pets
reported high attachment and integrated pets into
their homes, suggesting that successful adoptions do
not require payment of a fee.
• Free adoption promotions may increase adoptions
without compromising quality of life.
Weiss, E., Gramann, S. (2009). A Comparison of Attachment Levels of Adopters of Cats: FeeBased Adoptions Versus Free Adoptions. Journal of Applied Animal Welfare Science, 12:36070.
Wilson, J., Levy, J., Scott, H.M., Zeidman, S. (2011). Adoption Fee Amount and Other Factors
Associated with Pet Adoption Success.
The authors would like to thank Maddie’s Fund® for supporting this project. Maddie’s® Shelter
Medicine Program is underwritten by a grant from Maddie’s Fund®, the Pet Rescue Foundation
(www.maddiesfund.org), helping to fund the creation of a no-kill nation.