Study "He wouldn’t do it to you" on the abandonment and adoption of dogs and cats

Campaign poster showing an abandoned dog on a dark road

Abandonment has no excuses, but adoption has thousands of reasons.

The Abandonment and Adoption Study reveals essential aspects of the current state and trends regarding the causes and patterns of this issue.

Analyze the figures here and explore the data to better understand this phenomenon and join the solution.

Below, we detail our findings and insights.

+292,018

Dogs and cats collected by shelters in Spain during 2023

33

dogs and cats collected every hour

800

dogs and cats collected every day

24,335

dogs and cats collected every month

Evolution of the data on the entry and destination of animals

Total dogs and cats

Dogs

Cats

How many dogs or cats arrive at shelters?

Discover how many animals arrive at shelters and how their characteristics are distributed. Is there anything that surprises you?

In 2024 were taken in...

59.5%173,867 dogs

40.5%118,151 cats

Dog

Cat

What breed are the animals?

27%

Breed

73%

Mixed-breed

95%

At what age do they arrive?

24%

Puppy / Kitten

49%

60%

Adult

43%

16%

Senior

What is their health condition when they arrive?

14%

Injured

15%

59%

Healthy

48%

28%

Sick

38%

What size are the dogs?

18%

Small

53%

Medium

29%

Large

In which season do most animals arrive?

26%

JAN-MAR

19%

24%

APR-JUN

33%

28%

JUL-SEP

31%

23%

OCT-DEC

17%

Animals collected that had a microchip

25%

Do you want to know more?

Reasons for abandonment

What are the main reasons for abandonment?

"We know them only and exclusively thanks to the people who bring their animals to the shelter. "

Animal behavior problems

Unwanted litters

End of hunting season

Loss of interest in the animal

Economic factors

Lack of time or space

Birth of a child

Change of residence

Divorce

Allergies

Admission to hospital center/death

Others

100%

Origin of the animals

Destination of the animals

Adoption success

Reasons for return

PUBLICACIONES Y DESCARGAS

The role of animals in education: a graphic explanation

Study the evolution of the intake and outcome data of the animals

Discover the trends surrounding animal intake and how they differ between dogs and cats.

Intakes

Abandoned

Adopted

Reclaimed

What can you do to help solve the problem?

Reproduction control

Unwanted litters are one of the main causes of abandonment.

Preventing them is one of our responsibilities if we are caring for a dog or cat.

Identification

Chipping an animal in our care is not only an obligation, but our most important one: it makes it much easier to return a lost pet home.

Training

Knowing and training our pet is an important way to forge healthy bonds.

Training can prevent and help manage potential behavioural and relationship problems.

A good relationship reduces the risk of abandonment.

Adoption

When you adopt, you are changing a dog’s or cat’s life for ever.

You’ll receive advice from the shelter and you will be helping to solve a problem that affects us all.

Take the adoption test