About My Project:

The US is one of the countries with the highest dog ownership rates, and within the US, Colorado is one of the top dog owning states. With dogs being so popular comes the question of how/where to acquire a dog, and of the several methods available, it is largely believed that adoption is the most ethical way of acquiring a dog.

However, staying in shelters can be very stressful for dogs, and can lead to long term behavioral issues. In order to promote the adoption of dogs who usually have longer stays, it is important to find out what kinds of dogs people are adopting, and that is what my research will be covering.

Even though research has already been done on the effects of phenotypic characteristics of dogs on their length of stay in a shelter, no research has been done on how those effects change in rural or urban areas. Dog ownership rates are different in urban and rural areas, so it can reasonably be assumed that there may be some differences in adoption patterns, and I plan on researching that gap.