Thesis (BS Architecture) University of the Philippines Mindanao, 2019

When adopting animals, people are more likely to choose those which act healthy, energetic, and happy. However, social isolation and spatial restriction in the cages can negatively affect the behavior of these animals. Staying at a shelter for an extended time may cause the animals to become less interested in their surroundings and to choose to spend more time in the very back of their cages. These behaviors may make them less attractive to potential adopters. Fortunately, human contact and interaction has been shown to be an effective enrichment for these animals housed in cages. This study examined the level of human-interaction that increases the adoption of
shelter animals, particularly between animals and pet owners, non-pet owners and animal experts. For pet owners, activities such as playing (22.60%), walking (20.50%), and training (16.90%) were the most preferred. For non-pet owners, activities such as playing (23.50%), walking (19.00%), and petting (16.70%) were the most preferred. The pet owners and non-pet owners’ percent willingness to adopt shelter animals were also determined. Pet owners (83.00%) were more willing to adopt shelter animals than non-pet owners (79.60%). For pet owners, they were most likely to adopt a shelter animal if it is sociable (28.60%), have a compatible personality with them (28.20%), or if trained (21.40%). For non-pet owners, they are most likely to adopt a shelter animal if it is trained (33.10%), have a compatible personality with them (28.10%), or if groomed (19.40%). From this, areas that promote human-animal interaction such as socialization areas, gardens, parks and training areas were provided. Doing these activities with animals, shelter animals in particular, in these areas would improve their behavior and morale. This improvement in the animal’s behavior could greatly increase their chances of adoption because potential adopters tend to adopt animals that look happy and energetic. Other amenities that were provided are the
veterinary clinic, grooming salon✓parlor, pet shop, petting zoo, pet hotel, pet cemetery, and pet café. All these amenities cater to pet owners, non-pet owners, and animal experts.