I read an article that cites an AP-Petside.com poll about how people acquired their pets. Only 30% reported getting their pet from a shelter. And only 3% got one from a rescue.
Most people get pets as gifts or take in a stray. But more depressing is that 14 percent bought an animal at a pet store. That tells me that people are not being educated about puppy mills.
But here's the most depressing statistic. "Thirty-six percent of those polled say that if they were to adopt an animal from a shelter, they would be extremely or very concerned that the pet might have hidden medical problems; 29 percent express concern about psychological problems and 33 percent say they would worry the animal wouldn't fit in with their families."
Rescues and shelters have a big PR problem. People obviously still think that if an animal is homeless, there must be something "wrong" with it.
As you and I well know, the idea that shelter animals are somehow defective has no basis in fact. Usually the critters are in rescue because of people problems, not animal problems. People fail to spay or neuter their pets, owners die, and gates are left open. Nine times out of ten, it's not the animal's fault at all.
The problem is there are only so many altruistic people who want to save a life. Mostly it seems like we're preaching to the converted; folks like us who have adopted pets ourselves and understand how wonderful they are.
But the word obviously isn't spreading. We need to reach the unconverted folks like the guy quoted in the article who says that even though he adopted before, next time, he'll go to a breeder because "he wants a thoroughbred."
How do you get the word out to people like that? (As an aside, a lot of people outside of the sheltering/humane world don't even know where their local animal shelter IS!)
While reading news sites, I did notice that the Humane Society is working with the Ad Council to do a bunch of public service ads promoting adoption. That's a great start!
It all keeps coming back to a question that has bothered me for a long time: what can we do to make adoption seem "cool" and something you want to do, rather than something you should do?
A professor of cultural sociology and social communication in the Netherlands, Carl Rohde, defined cool as something that is "inspiring and attractive." As far as the "why of cool" he claims the common denominator is empowerment.
I know that a lot of people don't want to think about pets as products, but shelters compete with pet stores for homes. Why is Apple Computer cool and Microsoft not cool? What can we do to make pet adoption seem empowering and cool like using a slim, shiny Mac Airbook, rather than something you have to do like using a boring beige PC?
Part of it is that Apple's marketing makes people who use their products feel like they're special and part of a community. They are encouraged to "think different" and revel in Apple's simple, clean designs. Computing then becomes fun, interesting, and important vs. dull drudgery.
What can we do to bring that sense of cool to the work we do and combat the stigma that surrounds homeless pets? If you have thoughts, please share them with me ;-)