Pet Owner Survey

Maddie's Fund commissioned the University of Nevada Reno's Center for Research Design and Analysis to conduct a survey of Northern Nevada residents' attitudes concerning pets, veterinarians and animal shelters. The Survey of 608 households revealed important background information for Maddie's^® Spay/Neuter Project in Northern Nevada and the Pets Love Vets campaign. Among the findings:

Despite ongoing efforts to promote adoption of shelter animals, only 39% of those surveyed had obtained one or more of their pets from a shelter or a rescue group. The rest were obtained from breeders, pet stores, friends, and family.
The most common reason why people did not adopt from a shelter was a preference for a particular breed, or for young animals.
Over 80% of those surveyed had spayed or neutered their pets.
80% of households had dogs; 47% cats.