I interviewed seven people — four dog owners, two cat owners, and one person who is still searching for a dog.
Main goals for the interviews:
- Understand what motivates people to get a pet and how they decide which pet to get
- Learn about where people look for pets and about the adoption process they go through
- Discover challenges and moments of delight people experienced when searching for their pet
How do people decide which pet to get?
- Most people have grown up with pets and have been wanting to get a pet for a while.
- Those who got a pet for the first time as an adult got their pet because it was the first time that they had a steady job, were relatively stationary, and could provide for their pet.
- Other important consideration when deciding which pet to get included the size of their living space, the cost of owning a pet, the pet’s behavior toward children, and their lifestyle.
Where do people get their pets?
- Everyone preferred adopting over buying a pet from a breeder.
- Everyone initially searched for pets online through sites like PetFinder, but none of them found their pet directly on these sites.
- Those who wanted a specific breed had the most challenges finding their pet: one couple ended up getting their pet through a breeder, and another couple adopted theirs from a breed-specific rescue organization.
- People who adopted their animals directly from a shelter found the process the most straightforward.
What are people’s pain points in buying or adopting a pet?
- Online pet profiles weren’t updated regularly.
- Their profile descriptions and photos could be much, much better.
- Purebred pets were adopted quickly.
- It was difficult to find animals that met their criteria and were local.
- The adoption process was long (although people respected the process).