Abstract

San-Pui Lam and Ming-Feng Wu

This study conducted an online survey of 292 Taiwanese who were members of animal adoption websites. About one-third of the respondents indicated they had adopted stray dogs while more than half expressed willingness to adopt dogs from public animal shelters. Results showed that respondents’ general intention to adopt dogs was related to their attitude toward general adoption, gender and religion. The respondents’ specific intention to adopt dogs online was influenced by attitude toward online adoption, subjective norm (that is, opinions from friends and relatives regarding online adoption), and perceived behavioral control (that is, perceived personal ability and resources to go through the online adoption process). Based on these findings, this study suggested that adoption websites should promote the idea that adoption is the best arrangement for abandoned dogs and will bring happiness to the adopter. Public shelters, on the other hand, should improve their websites, public relations, and marketing. They should also consider sorting their dogs into “health categories,” so people can easily select the dogs they want.