1. Partnerships for an
Animal Friendly
Community

2. Pet Acquisition
& Ownership Study
• To determine levels
of pet ownership
• Better understand
patterns of ownership

3. Research Methodology
Telephone survey (May 14 – 25)
404 Oahu residents
via land lines (201)
& cell sampling (203)
Sampling error: n+
+ or – 4.8%
Data weighted
to ensure age, ethnicity,
and gender were
representative (2010 US Census).
3

4. Where do you think of to get a pet?
Most commonly named source
• Hawaiian Humane Society
Second most popular
• Friends and family
Media Sources
• Internet (added in 2012) – Craigslist & Google
similar levels of awareness as newspapers
& breeders
4

5. Where do you think of to get a pet?
Hawaiian Humane
92% Friend/Family
90% 90%
89%
86% Unaided Aided
85%
82% 82%82% Pet Store
81%
79%79%
75%
73% 72%
69% 68% Newspaper
61%
59%
Breeder
53%53% 55%
52% Internet
47% 47%
42% 44%44%44%
42% 40%
5 Base: VI (404); V (400); IV (403); III (401); II (405) I (403)

6. Website Drivers
What websites would you go to if you
were thinking about getting a pet?

7. Where did you get
your most recent pet?
Most Popular Source
• friends & family
Primary reasons for not adopting
from a shelter
• help friends/family find homes for dogs/cats
• preference for select breeds
7

8. Source of Most Recent Dog or Cat
Where did you get your most recent dog/cat?
Source VI ('12) V '(08) IV ('05) III ('01)
Friend/Relative 43% 41% 43% 42%
Stray/Found animal 15 9 10 8
HHS 12 14 16 13
Pet Store 12 13 8 17
Breeder 8 13 11 11
Newspaper 2 4 6 2
Other Rescue Group 2 -- -- --
Internet 1 -- -- --
Other 4 4 5 6
BASE: (215) (233) (200) (218)

9. Only 12% of pets
from the Humane Society
Where did you get your Did you consider adopting
most recent dog/cat? from the Humane Society?
Base: VI (215); V (233); IV (200); III (218) Base: VI (215); V (233); IV (200); III (218)
% “YES”
n/a

10. Reason For Not Considering
Humane Society Adoptions
Why Didn't You Consider Adopting A Pet From HHS?
Reason VI ('12) V '(08) IV ('05)
Already have pet(s)/Didn't want another 20% 25% 16%
Helping family/friends 16 21 11
Wanted specific breed/type 10 19 15
Didn't have any I liked 9 -- --
Someone gave me pet/brought home pet 6 7 5
Took in a stray/Lots of strays 4 3 4
Cost of adoption 4 2 4
BASE: (189) (200) (168)

11. Oahu Pet Ownership Trends
58% of households own pets
Dog owners (45%) outnumber cat owners (17%) by more
than 2 to 1.

12. Pets per Household & Neutering
Pet Ownership VI ('12) V '(08) IV ('05) III ('01)
Own a Pet (% Yes) 58% 60% 56% 54%
Pets Owned
Dogs 45% 43% 40% 37%
Mean # of dogs/Household 1.9 1.7 1.8 1.6
% Spayed/Neutered 56% 65% 62% 52%
Cats 17% 19% 19% 21%
Mean # of cats/Household 2.1 2.2 2.2 2.1
% Spayed/Neutered 87% 81% 91% 85%
Base: (404) (400) (403) (401)

13. Owned Dogs & Cats
Oahu estimates
Note: 2012 estimates are based on the 2010 US Census estimates for occupied households (311,047) on O‘ahu;
2008 estimates are based on the 2000 US Census estimates for occupied households (286,450) on O‘ahu.
Ward Research, Inc. • 828 Fort Street, Suite 210 • Honolulu, Hawaii 96813 • Phone: (808) 522-5123 • Fax: (808) 522-5127

14. Oahu Pet Owner Facts
• 58% of households own pets
- Dog owners outnumber cat owners by more than 2:1.
• Dog ownership steadily rising.
- 45% in 2012 versus 37% in 2001
• Cat owners (87%) more likely than dog owners (56%) to
spay/neuter their pets.
• Proportion of dog owners (56% in 2012 versus 65% in
2008) who reportedly spay/neuter their dogs decreased
significantly since prior measure.

15. Feeding Stray Cats
Do you feed stray cats that
do not belong to you?
Stray cat situation on Oahu
remained unchanged;
1 in 5 reportedly feed strays.
Mean # of stray cats feed
5.95 cats 4.75 cats 4.83 cats
15

16. Stray Cats Fed
Oahu estimates
Note: 2012 estimates are based on the 2010 US Census estimates for occupied households (311,047) on O‘ahu;
2008 estimates are based on the 2000 US Census estimates for occupied households (286,450) on O‘ahu.
Ward Research, Inc. • 828 Fort Street, Suite 210 • Honolulu, Hawaii 96813 • Phone: (808) 522-5123 • Fax: (808) 522-5127

17. $50 Billion Industry
.Data
from
American Pet Products
Association
2006 - 2007

18. Estimated 2012 Sales within
the U.S. Market
Estimated Breakdown
Food $20.46 billion
Supplies & Medicine $12.56 billion
Vet Care $13.59 billion
Live Animal Purchases $2.15 billion
Grooming & Boarding $4.11 billion
18

19. Estimated Annual
Internet
Puppy Sales Hawaii
4,600 Puppies
$4.3 Million
19

20. Staggering Statistics!

21. Pet Ownership & Acquisition
by Jacque LeBlanc, Hawaiian Humane Society
Policy trends across the nation
by Inga Gibson, HSUS
Pet policies that work
by Ken White, Peninsula Humane Society