Using behavioral data to ‘do good’

Problematic behavior has been reported to be responsible for 34.2% of relinquishments at one set of UK shelters (Diesel et  al., 2010) and for 35% of relinquishments in the United States (Dolan et al., 2015). Recent data from the ASPCA estimate that of the 3.3 million dogs euthanized in shelters in the US, 20% are euthanized purely for behavioral reasons (ASPCA, 2018). Data on whether behavioral concerns contribute to relinquishment or euthanasia when other, non-behavioral reasons are given, are inconsistently assessed and recorded, but the conventional wisdom is that this effect may be impressive.
Source: Journal of Veterinary Behavior: Clinical Applications and Research - Category: Veterinary Research Authors: Tags: Editorial Source Type: research