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Assessment of health and welfare in a small sample of dogs owned by people who are homeless

Assessment of health and welfare in a small sample of dogs owned by people who are homeless
Assessment of health and welfare in a small sample of dogs owned by people who are homeless
Background: Pet ownership is common amongst homeless people, with dogs the most frequently reported pets (Singer et al., 1995). Homeless people receive considerable criticism for keeping pets due to public perception of poor care provision (Irvine et al., 2012, Scanlon et al., 2020).

Materials and Methods: A convenience, cross-sectional sample of nineteen homeless people, owning a total of 21 dogs were recruited, and their dogs’ health and wellbeing assessed using the PDSA Petwise MOT (P-MOT).

Results: The dogs compared favourably with conventionally-owned pets in most areas, including exercise and companionship. Problems included being overweight/ obese (although at lower prevalence than the general population). Some owners had difficulty in accessing veterinary care. Behavioural concerns were reported for 61.9% of the dogs, most commonly separation-related distress.

Discussion: Being unable to safely leave their pets may impair owners’ access to services. Provision of accessible veterinary care, behavioural support and pet-friendly services could improve the health of homeless owners and their pets.
0042-4900
Scanlon, Louise
3700fb4c-4c2b-447a-8b45-bc760e7e4b2b
Hobson-West, Pru
f3ca6b39-c2fc-4c9d-8a49-b5a77b3dc65c
cobb, katy
9a19a3b0-d8ac-496d-874b-aa95f0e7eb37
Mcbride, Elizabeth
8f13b829-a141-4b67-b2d7-08f839972646
Stavisky, Jenny
efc17c02-3e30-46c8-80db-5031bc98a7fa
Scanlon, Louise
3700fb4c-4c2b-447a-8b45-bc760e7e4b2b
Hobson-West, Pru
f3ca6b39-c2fc-4c9d-8a49-b5a77b3dc65c
cobb, katy
9a19a3b0-d8ac-496d-874b-aa95f0e7eb37
Mcbride, Elizabeth
8f13b829-a141-4b67-b2d7-08f839972646
Stavisky, Jenny
efc17c02-3e30-46c8-80db-5031bc98a7fa

Scanlon, Louise, Hobson-West, Pru, cobb, katy, Mcbride, Elizabeth and Stavisky, Jenny (2021) Assessment of health and welfare in a small sample of dogs owned by people who are homeless. Veterinary Record, [e776]. (doi:10.1002/vetr.776).

Record type: Article

Abstract

Background: Pet ownership is common amongst homeless people, with dogs the most frequently reported pets (Singer et al., 1995). Homeless people receive considerable criticism for keeping pets due to public perception of poor care provision (Irvine et al., 2012, Scanlon et al., 2020).

Materials and Methods: A convenience, cross-sectional sample of nineteen homeless people, owning a total of 21 dogs were recruited, and their dogs’ health and wellbeing assessed using the PDSA Petwise MOT (P-MOT).

Results: The dogs compared favourably with conventionally-owned pets in most areas, including exercise and companionship. Problems included being overweight/ obese (although at lower prevalence than the general population). Some owners had difficulty in accessing veterinary care. Behavioural concerns were reported for 61.9% of the dogs, most commonly separation-related distress.

Discussion: Being unable to safely leave their pets may impair owners’ access to services. Provision of accessible veterinary care, behavioural support and pet-friendly services could improve the health of homeless owners and their pets.

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Veterinary Record - 2021 - Scanlon - Assessment of health and welfare in a small sample of dogs owned by people who are - Version of Record
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Accepted/In Press date: 23 July 2021
Published date: 16 August 2021

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 456433
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/456433
ISSN: 0042-4900
PURE UUID: f0f5a5d9-b0b8-4d66-a408-17c3cd52fd3e

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Date deposited: 28 Apr 2022 16:47
Last modified: 16 Mar 2024 16:42

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Contributors

Author: Louise Scanlon
Author: Pru Hobson-West
Author: katy cobb
Author: Jenny Stavisky

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