Decrease in Proportion of Sterilized Dogs Entering Animal Welfare Organizations in the U.S. Post-pandemic

Abstract

Introduction: The SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) pandemic disrupted spay and neuter services for owned and unowned animals in the United States; however, the impact of this deficit on animal welfare organizations’ intake and capacity has not been reported. This study examined nationwide data for trends in sterilization status of dogs entering animal shelters and rescue organizations in 2019–2023.

Methods: A retrospective analysis was conducted using a national database for dogs admitted as owner surrenders or strays and outcomed to adoption in 2019–2023. Descriptive statistics were used for prealter status as a function of region, intake type, age, size, sex, and length of stay, and binary logistic regression to evaluate predictors of prealtered status.

Results: A total of 1,136,021 dogs admitted to 256 U.S. shelters and rescues across 46 states and Washington D.C. met the study criteria. The proportion of dogs entering shelters prealtered declined from 33.2% in 2019 to 22.3% in 2023, with varied decreases across regions, intake types, and size groups. Prealtered dogs had shorter median length of stay to adoption compared to unaltered dogs. Multiple factors influenced the odds of a dog being prealtered. For example, there were higher odds of being prealtered among senior and male dogs, and lower odds among juveniles and stray dogs. Lower dog intake partially offset the total number of unaltered dogs admitted from 185,138 dogs in 2019 to 173,314 in 2023.

Conclusion: The percentage of dogs prealtered at intake decreased year over year post-pandemic, which may impact time spent in care. Animal welfare organizations should consider assessing prealter status at intake to predict shelter capacity and identify trends in access to sterilization services.