Adoption return rates: how often adopted dogs and cats come back
Across 127,905 dog and cat adoptions in four public shelter datasets, 9.1% of adopted animals came back to the same shelter within 6 months: 12.5% of dogs and 4.3% of cats. Most who came back did so quickly: half within 13 days.
| Species | Adoptions | Back within 30 days | Within 90 days | Within 6 months |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dogs | 74,328 | 8.3% | 10.8% | 12.5% |
| Cats | 53,577 | 2.9% | 3.7% | 4.3% |
| All dogs and cats | 127,905 | 6.1% | 7.8% | 9.1% |
By shelter
| Shelter · species | Adoptions | Back within 30 days | Within 90 days | Within 6 months |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Austin · Dogs | 45,878 | 9.1% | 11.4% | 13.1% |
| Austin · Cats | 34,143 | 3.1% | 3.9% | 4.6% |
| Dallas · Dogs | 19,177 | 6.7% | 10.1% | 12.8% |
| Dallas · Cats | 8,610 | 2.6% | 3.5% | 4.2% |
| Long Beach · Dogs | 5,005 | 7.1% | 8.1% | 8.4% |
| Long Beach · Cats | 6,237 | 2.0% | 2.4% | 2.7% |
| Sonoma · Dogs | 4,268 | 8.6% | 10.0% | 10.5% |
| Sonoma · Cats | 4,587 | 3.2% | 4.0% | 4.4% |
By age group at adoption
Austin and Long Beach only (the two datasets with age or date of birth).
| Group | Adoptions | Back within 30 days | Within 90 days | Within 6 months |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dogs · Under 6 months | 14,175 | 5.1% | 6.8% | 8.3% |
| Dogs · 6 months to 7 years | 33,053 | 10.6% | 13.0% | 14.6% |
| Dogs · 7 years and older | 3,314 | 8.2% | 10.1% | 11.7% |
| Cats · Under 6 months | 27,678 | 2.1% | 2.6% | 3.1% |
| Cats · 6 months to 7 years | 10,511 | 4.7% | 5.8% | 6.6% |
| Cats · 7 years and older | 1,797 | 5.2% | 7.0% | 8.7% |
By size
Sonoma only (the one dataset with adult size). Puppies and kittens recorded by size class are left out.
| Group | Adoptions | Back within 30 days | Within 90 days | Within 6 months |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dogs · Small | 1,532 | 5.9% | 6.9% | 7.2% |
| Dogs · Medium | 1,138 | 12.0% | 14.1% | 14.9% |
| Dogs · Large | 782 | 11.3% | 13.2% | 13.9% |
| Cats · Small | 1,815 | 5.1% | 6.5% | 7.3% |
| Cats · Medium | 47 | 4.3% | 4.3% | 6.4% |
| Cats · Large | 32 | 9.4% | 9.4% | 9.4% |
How soon returns happen
Of the 11,631 returns within 6 months: 4,498 (39%) came back within a week, 3,241 (28%) in days 8 to 30, 2,231 (19%) in days 31 to 90 and 1,661 (14%) in days 91 to 180. The middle half came back between 4 and 51 days after adoption.
Behavior, kids and other pets
None of the four public datasets record behavior notes or how an animal does with kids or other pets, so we can't break returns down by those yet. Member shelters can add them (and return dates and reasons) as optional fields; pooled member figures will appear here once a group has data from at least 5 shelters and 100 records. We never use adopters' personal details.
How these figures are computed
Adoption outcomes linked by animal ID to the same animal's next intake of any type; only adoptions with at least 180 days of follow-up before the newest intake in the file are counted. A "return" is the same animal ID coming back to the same shelter by any intake type, so returns to a different shelter aren't counted and the real rate may be somewhat higher. Groups with fewer than 30 adoptions are left out. These are group rates for planning kennel space and support, not predictions about any animal or adopter. Data periods: Austin 2013-10-01 to 2025-05-04; Dallas 2023-10-01 to 2026-10-21; Sonoma 2013-08-16 to 2026-10-22; Long Beach 2013-07-24 to 2026-10-21. Sonoma also codes 557 intakes as "adoption return", which our ID linking finds and counts alongside returns recorded under other intake types. Members can plug the 6-month rate into the kennel flow simulator; see the methodology for the data sources.