Posts tagged "BobBarker"

In a group of animal lovers or "The Price is Right" hosts, it's easy to see a passion for adopting homeless pets and controlling the pet population. But thanks to a national survey commissioned by PetSmart Charities, we now have an insight to the overall national perceptions and opinions about pets.

Among 1,000 new pet owners (those who acquired a dog or cat in the past year), the study found that only 24 percent were adopted from shelters. This means a whopping 76 percent of pets were received from sources other than shelters, with the primary reason being a desire for a specific purebreed.

Interestingly, when those who purchased pets were asked what might motivate them to choose shelter adoption instead, knowing that "millions of purebred animals end up in shelters" was found to be the least motivating factor.

Despite Bob Barker's tireless encouragement, the study also found that nearly half of people who have acquired unsterilized pets in the last year haven't fixed them. As a result, more unwanted pets are being born into the world. Owners reported that more than half of the litters born to their dogs and cats were unintentional.

Other interesting findings from the study are that people earning $55,000 or more per year are more likely to adopt from shelters, and southerners and the under-35 set are the least likely to sterilize their pets.

"We hope that by providing this data to others who share our passion for saving the lives of homeless pets, we can break down the barriers to pet adoption and spay/neuter that survey respondents identified," said Susana Della Maddalena, executive director of non-profit PetSmart Charities, Inc. "We can all use the data to develop new practices and messages based on what we now know to be key motivators and barriers."

Remember how Bob Barker used to end every episode of "The Price is Right" by reminding viewers to spay and neuter their pets? His devotion to animals didn't stop there. Now he's donated $1 million to his alma mater, Drury University, to establish a professorship on animal rights. According to the Associated Press, Barker "hopes the school will eventually be able to offer a program of studies that would train them to be animal rights activists and to respect animals."

The new professorship, named for Barker's late wife Dorothy Jo Barker, went to Patricia McEachern, who will work to develop the nation's first undergraduate program in animal rights. McEachern told Paw Nation, "The student interest in the Animal Ethics class has been outstanding. The course filled up almost immediately and we started a waiting list. The goal of the Animal Ethics course is to make students aware of issues regarding animals." Her long-term goals include establishing a minor. She added, "If you spend any time at all with Bob Barker, he is going to make you laugh. I hesitate to share a specific story because I could never do him justice. Bob Barker is an American treasure."

Animal-rights enthusiasts, come on down!