Adopt-A-Less-Adoptable-Pet Week (Sept. 17-25) shines a spotlight on the homeless pets often overlooked by adopters, whether because they have health issues such as FIV or are blind or deaf, a few years past puppy- or kittenhood, shy when meeting new people or just the “wrong” breed or color.
When Petfinder created Adopt-A-Less-Adoptable-Pet Week in 2009, we surveyed our shelter and rescue group members to find out how many of them had pets they were having a hard time placing, and which pets were hardest to get adopted. Here’s what they said.
Petfinder’s “Less-Adoptable Pet” Survey Results
- 95% of shelters and rescue groups said they had pets whom they were having a very hard time placing in adoptive homes.
- 33% said they had pets who’d been waiting for homes for one to two years, and 27% had pets who’d been waiting more than two years.
Which pets were hardest to place? Here’s what our respondents said:
- Senior and older pets: 30%
- Pets with medical problems: 15%
- Victims of breed prejudice (such as Pit Bulls): 13%
- Shy pets: 10%
- Pets who need to be only pets: 10%
To help these pets find homes, we asked shelters and rescue groups to nominate their hardest-to-place pets. We then put them all in our Adopt-A-Less-Adoptable-Pet Week Gallery. Please share one pet (or more!) from our gallery every day this week.
More about Adopt-A-Less-Adoptable-Pet Week:
Adopt-A-Less-Adoptable-Pet Week 2011
