Factors affecting time to adoption of dogs re-homed by a charity in the UK

The objective of this retrospective cohort study was to determine the factors affecting the time until adoption of dogs re-homed by Dogs Trust, a UK charity. There were 13,338 records included in the study, representing 11,663 dogs. Data were extracted from the Dogs Trust's database between February 2001 and June 2004 representing all re-homing centres in the UK using the database during this time period. A survival analysis was conducted using Kaplan-Meier plots and multivariable Cox regression. The results of the study showed that the median time till adoption for all dogs was 28 days (95% CI 28-29 days). The variables which affected the time till adoption were breed, purebred status, size, sex, neuter status on arrival at a centre, age, coat colour, veterinary history and re-homing centre. It was suggested that temperament could be an important risk factor but this variable had to be excluded from the multivariable analysis. Dogs from the gundog and utility breed groups and purebred dogs were re-homed at the fastest rate. © 2007 Universities Federation for Animal Welfare.