Testing the Hypothesis Part 1

College Student Pet Abandonment Prevention

• Opportunity: In college towns throughout the U.S. thousands of pets are abandoned and given to shelters. The reason for there abandonment is usually due to time restraints and/or lack of responsibility.

• The who: College Students who want to own a pet
• The what: They are abandoning pets at shelters
• The why: The lack of research and/or responsibility about the everyday life of raising a pet
• Testing the who: Not all college students that want a pet, have this need. Many students take good care of their pets. However, the ones that get an animal without taking the time to examine their decision and end up returning it, are.
• Testing the what: Those who do abandon their pets actually may do so at the appropriate time. Some students get a puppy, keep it for a couple of weeks, then return it. This action while unfortunate is actually better than returning the puppy at a later age.
• Testing the why: Why do people abandon pets in college? I presume that there a plethora of specific reasons for their abandonment. However, I think the overwhelming majority of cases have to deal with personal responsibility and time management. There is always an option to not get a pet, some students overlook this and end up regretting their decision. This opportunity will help with college students in the decision phase or getting a pet.

• Interview #1:
• In this interview, this UF male off-campus student felt that he really wants a puppy. He was aware of the responsibility it will require of him. He personally does know of a friend that gave away her pet after adopting it a year prior. He finds it sad that the dog was essentially abandoned. He also felt that there were plenty of reasons why this happens, not just time management, and responsibility but also the possibility of not be allowed to have a pet in an apartment complex and not being able to afford the pet anymore.

• Interview #2:
• My second interview was with a female UF student at Heavener hall that was part of the 'Puppy Club'. She was very passionate about this issue. She felt very strongly about people who take on the responsibility of owning a pet in college without weighing their options. She has known people that get a puppy and return it a week later, which she praised because apparently, the rate of adoption for dogs over the age of 2 is 25%. She felt that my program to let people get a "trial run" with a puppy, would be a lot to handle due to the high cost of puppies and the risk associated with giving people a trial run for free.
• Interview #3:
• My next interviewee was a male student at the UF engineering college. He did not own a pet but he does he plan on owning one. He personally never heard of any issue of college students that abandon their pets and doesn't think there is a problem with it right now. after sharing some data with him on the severity of the matter he still remained unconvinced that this called for a pet trial program that I am thinking of pursuing.
• Interview #4:
• This interviewee is a female at UF at library west on campus. She was aware of the pet problem in Gainesville. She personally had an experience with having to raise a pet with her roommate until they agreed to return the pet. She says she felt bad at the time but she is sure that the pet has a better environment now than it did while in their care. After mentioning my solution, she was impressed and said that it could've saved her from the pain she felt when giving the pet away. However, she did have strong feelings about the person giving away their animal having a much better life.

• Interview #5:
• My last interviewee was a man involved with student government at UF. He told me that his roommate has a dog that she leaves at home all day and that sometimes he actually has to care for the dog for her. He feels it isn't right to put dogs in a lonely environment all day. He mentioned that if he was to ever get one he would register it as an emotional support animal so he'd be able to bring the dog everywhere. He felt my program is a good take on the issue and if it was implemented he would participate.

• Given your interviews, what do you know about the opportunity that you didn't know before? 
• I feel that my interviews have reinforced my claim that the opportunity exists and needs to be addressed. My 2nd interviewee did, however, say that she thought it would be difficult to manage. She also mentioned the risk involved with lending people puppies. This could be true but I feel that with the appropriate planning, it could work.

• My first interview was very enlightening. I learned of two other reasons that may contribute to the abandonment issue. One is the cost of owning the pet and living restrictions on pets. These two could contribute to a percentage of the animals that are abandoned. It'd be interesting to find out the exact percentage of these occurrences.
• My 3rd interviewee seemed completely oblivious to the issue. This surprised me but upon reflection, he seemed very busy and he probably doesn't have time to be keeping up with the issue. He was skeptical that the program could work and almost seemed to discourage it. I was surprised that someone uneducated about the issue could have such a strong judgment about it.
• The rest of my interviewees were very supportive and aware of the situation in Gainesville. I still, however, was surprised at their reactions and the level of support they conveyed. This gave me confidence that if my program were to ever become a reality, I believe it will make a substantial impact on the student body in Gainesville.