Feasibility Report Case

Feasibility Report

As the old saying goes “a dog is a man’s best friend.” This cultural idiom portrays the underlying trend of how engrossed our culture is with pets. We live in an age where many people care not only for their own pets, but also the well-being and humane care of all animals. Although research has already provided evidence that pets can heighten quality of life in the elderly and chronically ill, researchers at Paws to Play recently established that college students would also benefit greatly from pet ownership. Most would agree that a student’s attention should be centered on school work during a college career, but a recent survey completed by a group of college students at the University of Alabama found that nearly all students saw pets as a portal to sanity. Research has shown that having access to a furry friend can also produce many health benefits. Depression and obesity are the leading cause of undergraduate illnesses in our day and time, and these are two aspects that are directly combated by pet interaction. College introduces a foreign environment which is often accompanied by have to build a new friend/support network from the ground up. Interaction with these animals holds great potential in helping to reduce any loneliness felt by the students.

The other important aspect of Paws to Play’s vision is the support of local animal shelters. There is no denying that the need is great to help get these animals adopted. The main shelter in the vicinity of the University of Alabama is the Tuscaloosa Metro Animal Shelter. In an effort to show what the shelter has to deal with and how great the need is, in November 2014 they published statistics on their shelter’s activity. In that month they receive 313 animals, which was the lowest they had on record for the month of November. This is with the acknowledgement that they already had 230+ animals in the building. There is simply not room, resources, or time to properly care and hold that many animals at this shelter. Their first line of deciphering how to cope with this number is the euthanization of animals that are sick, injured, or have behavioral issues. However, once this has been done, there is nothing left but to start euthanizing dogs for the simply need of space. In that month there were 199 animals euthanized, which is actually also the lowest on record for the month of November. Four of these animals were put down simply because of the need for space. We believe that Paws to Play could have very possibly prevented these deaths. In addition to these reasons, 101 of these euthanizations were caused by Kennel Cough, upper respiratory infections, or a combination of the two. These conditions are brought about by overcrowding and prolonged stay in shelter conditions. Two things that could easily be alleviated by helping to move more animals from the shelter into adoption and homes.

Method

To gather information, we conducted research and surveyed fifty-two college students at the University of Alabama. Our survey consisted of ten questions, which sought to analyze the overall feasibility of Paws to Play. Our personally created survey consisted of ten questions, which sought to analyze the overall feasibility of Paws to Play. The following questions were asked in order to learn individual interest of a broad college group:

1. Would you consider yourself an animal lover?
2. Since coming to college, have you owned a pet?
3. If yes, did you adopt from a local shelter or purchase from another source? Ie. A breeder
4. If you did not adopt, why not?  
5. Do you find spending leisure time with domesticated animals, such as a dog, a successful way to unwind or more of a challenging, stressful task?
6. Would you, as a college student, appreciate an organization that allowed you to play with a dog for the afternoon, as a way to relieve stress and provide recreational activity?
7. When would you most likely take advantage of this opportunity?
8. Would you be more willing to pay a small fee to play with a dog, or donate supplies (towels, dog food, etc.) that a local shelter is in need of?
9. What seems like a reasonable amount to charge for this time to spend with a dog of your choice?
10. If you were told your small fee for fostering a dog for the afternoon would go towards the cost for adoption, would you more likely to consider adopting the dog permanently?

We have also consulted several websites and published studies about the correlation between pets, college students, and stress levels. We found literature denoting the statistics behind animal shelter adoption rates, euthanization rates, and needs of a local shelter.