· animal welfare experts worry that if another economic downturn hits, pet surrenders could spike again. · the report offers a comprehensive look at consumer perceptions and behaviors and reveals the factors contributing to the rising number of animals entering shelters and the declining adoption rates. The proportion of pets entering shelters as owner surrenders has remained stable since before 2019, with owner surrenders making up about 19-21% of all pets that entered shelters from 2019-2024. To put it bluntly, it did not happen. nearly three years out from the onset of the covid pandemic , we now have the data that clearly demonstrates there was no pandemic pet adoption boom and, in fact, during the years since covid, pet adoptions have been on the decline! What the data reveals : Although some shelters and rescues experienced a surge in adoptions in 2020, data from shelter animals count shows that the number of adoptions nationwide declined 17% compared to 2019. The survey revealed that an overwhelming majority of dogs and cats acquired during the pandemic (nearly 90%) were still in their homes, corroborating findings from national shelter databases indicating that dogs and cats were not being surrendered to shelters in large numbers on a national basis. Moving forward, shelters, rescues, and communities can work together to prevent another surge in pet abandonments. The pandemic exposed some major gaps in responsible pet ownership. · although some pet owners expressed general concerns, 87 percent of respondents shared that they are not considering rehoming their animal, suggesting that pet owners remain committed to caring for their cats and dogs. The following year, adoptions increased slightly but were still below 2019 levels.

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