I was just wondering what to blog about today when I ready a post on Dogs Today facebook page which was really quite an eye opener..
‘Extraordinary stat alert… is this really true?
Seventy per cent of pets change families more than once in their lifetime
Really???? Only 30% of dog/cats etc don’t end up being rehomed????
Is that right? Are we becoming dog borrowers. Is rescue a lending library? Do we hand them in like a Boris bike and pick up another when it’s convenient?
Even though they are called Aquarium software – the company reference 4 legged pets in their press release….
“Pet insurance software expert Aquarium Software says the process of insuring our four-legged friends could become further complicated in the future due to pets moving families too much. Statistics show that seventy per cent of pets change families more than once in their lifetime, something which could not only be debilitating and unsettling for the pet itself, but also jeopardises its pet parent’s chances of acquiring appropriate insurance.
“Animals are no different to us humans, in that they need consistency and structure in their lives, and they may react adversely to constant change” says Mark Colonnese, VP and Sales & Marketing Director at Aquarium Software Inc. “By moving around families too often, it also becomes more difficult to track a pet’s insurance and medical history, which adds to the problem from the insurer’s perspective.
Pets can move families for a variety of reasons – pet parent job relocations; tight financial budgets; human relationship split-ups, etc. An important part of the mix in reaching a sensible premium calculation is to know the animal’s detailed health and medical history, which can obviously made more difficult if the pet has moved from owner to owner.
Aquarium Software is currently being implemented by a number of key pet insurers, and affinity partners in the UK, Europe, USA and Canada’.
So have we really become a throw away society where people give up on dogs far too easily and do so many people seriously lack commitment to their pets? Or is it just that life happens, relationships breakdown, ill health etc and people consider whats best for the dogs?
Statistics can be scary and also can be manipulated but thinking about this subject has really made me realise the importance of getting dogs into the correct home in the first place.
Its such a big responsibility re homing a dog and you have small window of opportunity to evaluate potential adopters. You then have to weigh up rescue numbers and those dogs on the waiting list.
Juggling all of these factors weighs heavy on rescuers consciousnesses…ahhh I will never sleep tonight!
You’re doing a fantastic job, keep up the good work and spirits!!