Medical differences between stray and owner surrendered dogs in Dutch animal shelters

Abstract

Many Dutch animal shelters suffer from financial problems. They often receive a compensation for the care of stray animals by the local governments, but this seems to be not enough. This study investigated whether there is a difference in health condition and age between owner surrendered dogs and stray dogs to provide insight in which group of animals causes the highest financial burden on animals shelters. Information about origin (stray dog or owner surrendered dog), age and physical examination at the moment of intake was collected for 1462 dogs housed in three Dutch animals shelters in the period from January 2010 to June 2013. Number of disorders and affected organ systems in both groups were analyzed. Results show that stray dogs have significantly higher number of disorders compared with owner surrendered dogs at the moment of intake. Dental and dermatologic disorders were the most common. For both groups of disorders stray dogs were most affected. No difference in age was found between stray dogs and owner surrendered dogs.