SPCA

This, according to the findings of a comprehensive new survey commissioned by PetSmart Charities and conducted online by Ipsos Marketing among 2,000 U.S. adults and an additional 1,000 adults who acquired a dog or a cat in the past year.

He survey also found that about 40 percent of pet owners acquired their dog or cat without doing advance research; 76 percent of pets are acquired from sources other than animal shelters; and that the top reasons people don't adopt pets from shelters are the desire for a specific breed or type of pet and uncertainty about shelters and the pet-adoption process.

Without help from an SPCA International emergency grant, animals often have to die when a shelter is hit by such an emergency

Shelters and rescue groups across the globe face unexpected emergencies every day – fire, burglary, natural disasters, or an influx of animals from a hording or abuse confiscation. Without help from an SPCA International emergency grant, animals often have to die when a shelter is hit by such an emergency.

An unspayed cat and her offspring can produce more than 400,000 cats. An unspayed dog and her offspring can produce over 6,000 puppies.