@article{2600,
  keywords = {canine, shelter, disease, adoption, mortality, animal welfare },
  author = {S Vitulova and E Voslarova and V Vecerek and I Bedanova and M Volfova},
  title = {The health of shelter dogs and its impact on their adoption},
  abstract = {The subject of this retrospective study were dogs impounded at a Czech municipal  shelter over a ten-year period. While 63.4% of dogs at the monitored shelter  were clinically healthy, 36.6% of dogs showed single or multiple signs of disease.  Sex, size, age and purebred vs crossbred categories differed (p lt;0.05) in terms of  the frequency of clinical signs of disease. A greater prevalence of clinical signs of  disease was found in males, in large dogs, in senior dogs (aged 9 years and more)  and in purebred dogs. The dogs with impaired health stayed at the shelter longer  (p  lt; 0.001) than dogs with no clinical signs of disease. The dogs showing multiple  clinical signs stayed at the shelter longest. Their median length of stay (LOS) at  the shelter was 170 days in comparison to a median LOS of 45 days in dogs with  a single diagnosis and 26 days in healthy dogs. Gastrointestinal disease was the  most frequent single diagnosis, followed by respiratory diseases, skin diseases and  injuries. In conclusion, dogs with clinical signs of disease are at risk of long-term  stay at the shelter. Targeted advertising campaigns may be needed to increase  their adoption rate. },
  year = {2019},
  journal = {Berliner und Münchener Tierärztliche Wochenschrift},
  volume = {132},
  month = {04/2019},
  publisher = {Schlütersche Verlagsgesellschaft mbH & Co. KG},
  address = {Hannover},
  issn = {0005-9366},
  doi = {10.2376/0005-9366-18040},
  language = {English},
}