POTENTIAL PET OWNERSHIP IN UNITED-STATES RENTAL HOUSING

Considering the increasing evidence that companion animals can play a role in enhancing human health, it is important to know the extent to which pet ownership is curtailed by restrictive requirements in rental housing. In order to estimate the number of new pets which likely wou ld be adopted if pet ownership were permitted in all rental units, it was assumed that 35% of households not currently permitted pets would acquire them if allowed. The percentage of privately owned rental unit s that do not currently allow pets was estimated at 50%. Agencies prov ided data for: the number of rental units in federally and state-assis ted housing, the portion of those permitting pets; and the total numbe r of available rental housing units in the U.S. It was estimated that 6,540,880 new pets could be placed if permitted in all rental units. V eterinarians can assist in helping increase pet ownership through educ ation programs on the benefits of pets, pet selection, and management.