The Canine Search and Adoption Decision Process: A Conceptual Framework for Companion Pet Shelter Adoption

Understanding how individuals decide to adopt shelter dogs remains a significant challenge within animal welfare research, as existing studies identify correlates of adoption outcomes without explaining the underlying decision process. This hypothesis introduces a conceptual framework that synthesizes empirical findings from dog adoption studies with interdisciplinary theories to explain how adoption decisions emerge. Using a signal-to-noise perspective, the framework conceptualizes early bond formation between a potential adopter and a dog as a valuation signal that competes with uncertainty arising throughout the process. The functional model describes the adoption process as a lifecycle involving search, visitation, interaction, and decision phases, during which potential adopters seek information, evaluate available dogs, and form perceptions of compatibility. Interdisciplinary decision models, including Prospect Theory and the Diffusion Decision Model, are integrated to explain how information is framed, evaluated, and accumulated until a decision is reached. Empirical findings from human-dog interaction research are used to support the hypothesis that potential adopters evaluate companionship potential based on early bond formation associated with human-dog interactions. The framework offers a broad perspective on how adoption decisions may occur and establishes a theoretical foundation to guide future hypothesis development, measurement, and experimental research in companion animal adoption.