Abstract

A primary goal of animal shelters is to adopt animals into permanent homes. Many potential adopters learn about adoptable animals via online advertisements. It remains unclear how to best format these advertisements to increase the likelihood of a successful adoption. Participants (N = 561) completed a questionnaire after viewing fictional dog adoption advertisements in which certain characteristics were systematically varied. Results indicated that characteristics of the advertisements influenced participant opinions. Participants showed preference for advertisements in paragraphs over those written as bullet points. Participants’ perceptions of the dog and their ability to identify potential behavioral challenges were influenced by the type of language used in the advertisements. Participants expressed interest in having additional information in the advertisements, including information about the dog’s behavior. Our findings can help guide the content and structure of dog adoption advertisements to maximize information transfer, meet reader expectations, and result in more successful adoptions.