2f:null 30:["$","title",null,{"children":"Are Pit Bulls getting adopted from animal shelters? | Vy | Observable"}] 35:T730,Dogs have been known as fantastic companions to humans since the ancient world, and we can't help but fall in love with their affectionate and loyal nature. Regardless, it's painful to see that approximately [3.1 million](https://www.aspca.org/helping-people-pets/shelter-intake-and-surrender/pet-statistics#:~:text=Facts%20about%20U.S.%20Animal%20Shelters%3A&text=Approximately%206.3%20million%20companion%20animals,and%203.2%20million%20are%20cats.) dogs enter U.S. animal shelters nationwide every year. While most shelter organizations have common goals of reuniting owners with lost pets, rehoming stray or abandoned animals, and providing shelter and care for otherwise vulnerable animals, **the actual outcomes of those who entered shelters remain an important conversation to help us understand the state of animal welfare and efficacy of the shelter system.** In this notebook, I explore the outcomes of sheltered dogs at the Austin Animal Center (AAC), the largest no-kill animal shelter in the United States, which provides shelter to more than 18,000 animals each year and animal protection services to the city of Austin. The data provides a closer look into the outcomes/status (whether adopted, returned, or being let go of) and characteristics (sex, age, breed, color, etc.) of each dog as they leave the animal center, thus **helping us to draw further insights about possible public perception about certain dog characteristics, and most importantly, be equipped to confront the challenges and prejudice associated with them**. *Note: Despite the name, an animal shelter can be considered no-kill if it has a placement rate of [90% or higher](https://www.animalhumanesociety.org/news/what-does-it-mean-be-no-kill). Humane euthanasia is only reserved for animals with severe or untreatable illnesses or behavior issues.*36:T6c8,## Dataset Overview Austin Animal Center Outcomes [dataset](https://data.austintexas.gov/Health-and-Community-Services/Austin-Animal-Center-Outcomes/9t4d-g238) is provided by the AAC through the Austin's Open Data Portal and contains shelter outcomes of several types of animals and breeds from Oct, 1st 2013 to present (updated hourly). The data is publicly available through a JSON [endpoint](https://data.austintexas.gov/resource/9t4d-g238.json) and is thus able to be **dynamically streamed** in real-time. **Table Attributes** The data is available in **table dataset** type, where each item (row) represents one outcome per animal per encounter (ie. as it leaves the animal center). The attributes (columns) that were utilized in this notebook are as follows: * Outcome Type * Type: Categorial * Animal Type * Type: Categorial * Age upon Outcome * Type: Ordered - Quantitative * Orientation: Sequential * Breed * Type: Categorial A complete list of all attributes can be found at the data source. List of outcome types and their interpreted **semantics** (exact semantics were not provided by the owner, however some of them are self-explanatory): * Transfer * The animal was transferred to a different location or organization * Adoption * Return to Owner * Returned to the owner directly * Euthanasia * Unknown * Rto-Adopt * Returned to the owner through the shelter's adoption process * Died * Disposal * Unsure? * Missing No other attributes were needed to be derived, with the exception of: * Calculating the aggregated counts of dogs who share the same breed/outcome and age/outcome * Re-grouping the age attribute into 5 ordinal age buckets (For more details see Data Processing section below)37:T77e,## Outcomes by breed After centuries of evolution, today there are more than 300 known dog breeds. As a first task, let's look at the relationship between dogs breeds and the trends in their outcomes as they leave the Austin Animal Center. I've utilized both the [Stacked Horizontal Bar Chart](https://observablehq.com/@d3/stacked-horizontal-bar-chart) and [Normalized Stacked Horizontal Bar Chart](https://observablehq.com/@d3/stacked-normalized-horizontal-bar) to illustrate the aggregated count of **each outcome per breed**. The charts are sorted in descending order from the most common breed to the last, limited to the first 20 breeds. * The x-axis represents the number/count of a particular breed * The y-axis represents the dog breed * The z values are the types of outcome per breed Looking at this data, there are a couple of trends worth calling out (as of Feb 2022): * Pit Bull Mix, Labrador Retriever Mix, Chihuahua Shorthair Mix, and German Shepherd Mix are among the most common breeds found in the shelter * Pit Bull-type dogs and even German Shepherds, etc. have for decades faced overwhelming discrimination and misrepresentation in the media and elsewhere for their perceived "aggressive and dangerous" nature, with Pit Bull-type dogs being illegal to be owned in some states. * Labrador Retrievers are generally believed to be the most popular dog breed in the US, and it could be the sheer volume of Labs bred to meet this demand that accounts for so many of them showing up in shelters. * Within 20 of the most common breeds, 16 are labeled as mixed breeds (ie. mutts) * Mixed breeds are overwhelmingly [overpopulated in shelters nationwide](https://www.hudsonanimalhospitalnyc.com/services/dogs/blog/national-mutt-day-5-reasons-celebrate-mixed-breed-dogs), and they also often battle the stigma of being the less appealing dog, often remaining in shelters longer than purebred dogs.38:T435,The normalized bar chart provides a clearer look at the percentage distribution of the outcome types per breed compared to other breeds. * Within those labeled as **Pit Bull Mix**, about **5.4%** were euthanized. * Within those labeled as **purebred Pit Bull**, about **3.5%** were euthanized. * These percentages are higher than the average euthanasia rate of about 2.9% across the top 20 breeds. * While these results at the AAC are considered to be some of the best in the nation, thanks to their mission in maintaining the highest percentage of live outcomes possible for their animals, higher euthanasia trend with Pit Bulls is unfortunately still a consistent [trend](https://pawsomeadvice.com/dog/pit-bull-statistics/) across shelters in the US. * Chihuahuas also account for some of the highest percentages to be transferred to other shelters/organizations. Their sheer popularity and the public's [lack of proper training and understanding](https://charitypaws.com/chihuahua-shelter-facts/) of this breed are some of the potential factors contributing to this.39:T553,## Outcomes by age As a second task, let's break down the outcome distribution across age groups. Similar to the first task, both the Stacked Horizontal Bar Chart and its Normalized version are utilized to illustrate the aggregated count of **each outcome per age group**. * The x-axis represents the number/count of a particular breed * The y-axis represents the age group * The z values are the types of outcome per age group Some noticeable trends and insights (as of Feb 2022): * A majority of the dog population at the Austin Animal Center is under 3 years of age, with those **aged 1-3** making up **45.8%** of the total dog population. * Those aged above 7 make up about 11.5% of the total dog population. * Looking at the normalized chart, it's easy to see that **the older the dogs, the less likely they are to be adopted**. * As a direct contrast, **older dogs are more likely to be euthanized at the shelter compared to younger dogs**. * In the case of the AAC and other no-kill animal shelters, humane euthanasia is only reserved for animals with severe or untreatable illnesses, which could explain this trend in older dogs that might be more prone to illnesses. * Older dogs are also more likely to be returned to their owners, while puppies and younger dogs were likely born in the shelter or given away at a younger age for various reasons.3a:[] 33:{"id":"e1f506c20476254e","slug":"are-pitbulls-getting-adopted-from-animal-shelters","title":"Are Pit Bulls getting adopted from animal shelters?","thumbnail":"06f1ffb8546261e25a8bbe8c806ddb62f77c1515e80d5d929530808ba1fee3be","access_level":"public","create_time":"$D2022-02-01T07:49:41.953Z","update_time":"$D2022-04-05T19:59:07.265Z","view_time":null,"first_public_time":"$D2022-02-07T04:54:49.736Z","has_unpublished_edits":null,"fork":false,"stars":0,"starred":false,"owner":{"type":"team","id":"70a28fc0926865c6","login":"incakoala","name":"Vy","avatar_url":"https://avatars-next.observableusercontent.com/5d008ae093fa8b024defa3485b161456bc6ba621b7c21ef65061c11f7ca7dd98","tier":"starter_2024"},"version":1430,"publish_version":1430,"role":null,"authored":false,"authors":[{"type":"individual","id":"ded1682d7fdbac61","login":"incakoala","name":"Vy","avatar_url":"https://avatars-next.observableusercontent.com/5d008ae093fa8b024defa3485b161456bc6ba621b7c21ef65061c11f7ca7dd98","tier":null}],"members":[{"type":"individual","id":"ded1682d7fdbac61","login":"incakoala","name":"Vy","avatar_url":"https://avatars-next.observableusercontent.com/5d008ae093fa8b024defa3485b161456bc6ba621b7c21ef65061c11f7ca7dd98","tier":null,"role":"editor"}],"comments":[],"custom_thumbnail":true,"trashed":false,"lapsed":null,"subscribed":null,"forks":0,"collection":null,"type":"notebook","body":{"title":"Are Pit Bulls getting adopted from animal shelters?","cells":[{"id":0,"value":"# Are Pit Bulls getting adopted from animal shelters? \n### A look into Austin Animal Center's shelter outcomes\n\n* *Part of NEU's [Data Visualization course](https://johnguerra.co/classes/data_visualization_spring_2022/) by John Alexis Guerra Góme*\n* [Data source](https://data.austintexas.gov/Health-and-Community-Services/Austin-Animal-Center-Outcomes/9t4d-g238/)","pinned":false,"hidden":false,"mode":"md","author":"$undefined","summary":"$undefined","output":"","database":"$undefined"},{"id":924,"value":"$35","pinned":false,"hidden":false,"mode":"md","author":"$undefined","summary":"$undefined","output":"","database":"$undefined"},{"id":1194,"value":"## Who is this for?\n\nThis exploration is intended for anyone who wants a starting point in learning more about the statistics of animal shelters, starting with this particular case study specific to sheltered dogs at the Austin Animal Center.\n\nFurthermore, the obtained insights could be useful to animal activists, researchers, and policymakers in making informed decisions and policies to increase the animal welfare and efficacy of the animal shelter system. Increasing wider and easier access to data means that those in the animal welfare community and beyond can more effectively identify and support animals who need it most.","pinned":false,"hidden":false,"mode":"md","author":"$undefined","summary":"$undefined","output":"","database":"$undefined"},{"id":1162,"value":"$36","pinned":false,"hidden":false,"mode":"md","author":"$undefined","summary":"$undefined","output":"","database":"$undefined"},{"id":1216,"value":"$37","pinned":false,"hidden":false,"mode":"md","author":"$undefined","summary":"$undefined","output":"","database":"$undefined"},{"id":131,"value":"Swatches(outcomes_by_breed_chart.scales.color)","pinned":false,"hidden":false,"mode":"ojs","author":"$undefined","summary":"$undefined","output":"$undefined","database":"$undefined"},{"id":63,"value":" outcomes_by_breed_chart = StackedHorizontalBarChart(dogs_outcomes_by_breed, {\n x: d => d.count,\n y: d => d.breed,\n z: d => d.outcome,\n yDomain: d3.groupSort(dogs_outcomes_by_breed, D => d3.sum(D, d => d.count), d => d.breed).slice(-20),\n xLabel: \"Count →\",\n zDomain: outcomes,\n order: d3.stackOrderDescending,\n width,\n height: 700,\n marginLeft: 130,\n})","pinned":true,"hidden":false,"mode":"ojs","author":"$undefined","summary":"$undefined","output":"$undefined","database":"$undefined"},{"id":1295,"value":"$38","pinned":false,"hidden":false,"mode":"md","author":"$undefined","summary":"$undefined","output":"","database":"$undefined"},{"id":680,"value":"Swatches(normalized_outcomes_by_breed_chart.scales.color)","pinned":false,"hidden":false,"mode":"ojs","author":"$undefined","summary":"$undefined","output":"$undefined","database":"$undefined"},{"id":1077,"value":"normalized_outcomes_by_breed_chart = NormalizedBarChart(dogs_outcomes_by_breed, {\n x: d => d.count,\n y: d => d.breed,\n z: d => d.outcome,\n yDomain: d3.groupSort(dogs_outcomes_by_breed, D => d3.sum(D, d => d.count), d => d.breed).slice(-20),\n zDomain: outcomes,\n order: d3.stackOrderDescending,\n xLabel: \"Percent →\",\n width,\n marginLeft: 130,\n})","pinned":true,"hidden":false,"mode":"ojs","author":"$undefined","summary":"$undefined","output":"$undefined","database":"$undefined"},{"id":1291,"value":"$39","pinned":false,"hidden":false,"mode":"md","author":"$undefined","summary":"$undefined","output":"","database":"$undefined"},{"id":348,"value":"Swatches(outcomes_by_age_chart.scales.color)","pinned":false,"hidden":false,"mode":"ojs","author":"$undefined","summary":"$undefined","output":"$undefined","database":"$undefined"},{"id":221,"value":"outcomes_by_age_chart = StackedHorizontalBarChart(dogs_outcomes_by_age, {\n x: d => d.count,\n y: d => d.age,\n z: d => d.outcome,\n xLabel: \"Count →\",\n zDomain: outcomes,\n yDomain: [\"<1\", \"1-3\", \"4-6\", \"7-10\", \">10\", \"Unknown\"],\n order: d3.stackOrderDescending,\n width,\n height: 250,\n marginLeft: 50,\n})","pinned":true,"hidden":false,"mode":"ojs","author":"$undefined","summary":"$undefined","output":"$undefined","database":"$undefined"},{"id":805,"value":"Swatches(normalized_outcomes_by_age_chart.scales.color)","pinned":false,"hidden":false,"mode":"ojs","author":"$undefined","summary":"$undefined","output":"$undefined","database":"$undefined"},{"id":1097,"value":"normalized_outcomes_by_age_chart = NormalizedBarChart(dogs_outcomes_by_age, {\n x: d => d.count,\n y: d => d.age,\n z: d => d.outcome,\n zDomain: outcomes,\n offset: d3.stackOffsetExpand,\n yDomain: [\"<1\", \"1-3\", \"4-6\", \"7-10\", \">10\", \"Unknown\"],\n order: d3.stackOrderDescending,\n width,\n height: 250,\n marginLeft: 50,\n})","pinned":true,"hidden":false,"mode":"ojs","author":"$undefined","summary":"$undefined","output":"$undefined","database":"$undefined"},{"id":1019,"value":"## Data Processing\nThe raw data is loaded with `loadSocrata` using the JSON endpoint URL provided by the AAC:","pinned":false,"hidden":false,"mode":"md","author":"$undefined","summary":"$undefined","output":"","database":"$undefined"},{"id":937,"value":"url = \"https://data.austintexas.gov/resource/9t4d-g238.json\"","pinned":false,"hidden":false,"mode":"ojs","author":"$undefined","summary":"$undefined","output":"$undefined","database":"$undefined"},{"id":947,"value":"raw_data = loadSocrata(url)","pinned":true,"hidden":false,"mode":"ojs","author":"$undefined","summary":"$undefined","output":"$undefined","database":"$undefined"},{"id":1066,"value":"Initial pre-processing is as follows:\n* `dogs`: Filters by `animal_type` to obtain only dogs data\n* `dogs_outcomes`: Keeps only necessary columns and handles any `Null` or missing values. This will be our main initial object used for any later further processing and manipulation\n* `outcomes`: Keeps a separate array of all outcomes for use when populating the stacked bar chart","pinned":false,"hidden":false,"mode":"md","author":"$undefined","summary":"$undefined","output":"","database":"$undefined"},{"id":27,"value":"dogs = raw_data.filter(animal => animal.animal_type == \"Dog\")","pinned":true,"hidden":false,"mode":"ojs","author":"$undefined","summary":"$undefined","output":"$undefined","database":"$undefined"},{"id":533,"value":"dogs_outcomes = dogs.reduce((acc, curr) => {\n let obj = {};\n obj.breed = curr.breed || \"Unknown\";\n obj.age = curr.age_upon_outcome == \"NULL\" ? \"Unknown\" : (curr.age_upon_outcome || \"Unknown\");\n obj.outcome = curr.outcome_type || \"Unknown\";\n acc.push(obj);\n return acc;\n}, [])","pinned":true,"hidden":false,"mode":"ojs","author":"$undefined","summary":"$undefined","output":"$undefined","database":"$undefined"},{"id":31,"value":"outcomes = [...new Set(dogs_outcomes.map(item => item.outcome))]","pinned":true,"hidden":false,"mode":"ojs","author":"$undefined","summary":"$undefined","output":"$undefined","database":"$undefined"},{"id":1109,"value":"**Dogs outcomes by breed**","pinned":false,"hidden":false,"mode":"md","author":"$undefined","summary":"$undefined","output":"","database":"$undefined"},{"id":1126,"value":"Next, in order to display the dog outcomes aggregated by breed and type of outcome, I called `.reduce` on `dogs_outcomes` and created a new array that keeps the counts of each pair of dog breeds & type of outcomes.","pinned":false,"hidden":false,"mode":"md","author":"$undefined","summary":"$undefined","output":"","database":"$undefined"},{"id":46,"value":"dogs_outcomes_by_breed = dogs_outcomes.reduce((acc, curr) => {\n let isElemExist = acc.findIndex(item => {\n return item.breed === curr.breed && item.outcome === curr.outcome;\n })\n if (isElemExist === -1) {\n let obj = {};\n obj.breed = curr.breed;\n obj.outcome = curr.outcome;\n obj.count = 1;\n acc.push(obj)\n } else {\n acc[isElemExist].count += 1\n }\n return acc;\n}, [])","pinned":true,"hidden":false,"mode":"ojs","author":"$undefined","summary":"$undefined","output":"$undefined","database":"$undefined"},{"id":1115,"value":"**Dogs outcomes by age**","pinned":false,"hidden":false,"mode":"md","author":"$undefined","summary":"$undefined","output":"","database":"$undefined"},{"id":1136,"value":"To aggregate by type of outcome and age, I first grouped each age (usually in the format of \"5 days\", \"11 months\", \"2 years\" and so on) into 5 roughly pre-defined age buckets based on dogs' aging profile for the purpose of visualization and interpretation. Some rows have \"Unknown\" string values and were kept as is.","pinned":false,"hidden":false,"mode":"md","author":"$undefined","summary":"$undefined","output":"","database":"$undefined"},{"id":527,"value":"dogs_outcomes_by_age_grouped = dogs_outcomes.reduce((acc, curr) => {\n let obj = {};\n if (curr.age.includes(\"day\") || curr.age.includes(\"week\") || curr.age.includes(\"month\") || curr.age == \"0 years\") {\n obj.age = \"<1\"\n }\n else if (curr.age.includes(\"year\")) {\n var years = parseInt(curr.age.replace(/\\D/g, ''));\n if (1 <= years && years <= 3) {\n obj.age = \"1-3\";\n }\n else if (4 <= years && years <= 6){\n obj.age = \"4-6\";\n }\n else if (7 <= years && years <= 10) {\n obj.age = \"7-10\";\n }\n else if (11 <= years) {\n obj.age = \">10\";\n }\n }\n else {\n obj.age = curr.age;\n }\n obj.outcome = curr.outcome;\n acc.push(obj)\n return acc;\n}, [])","pinned":true,"hidden":false,"mode":"ojs","author":"$undefined","summary":"$undefined","output":"$undefined","database":"$undefined"},{"id":1143,"value":"Similarly, count the occurrence of each outcome/age pair:","pinned":false,"hidden":false,"mode":"md","author":"$undefined","summary":"$undefined","output":"","database":"$undefined"},{"id":219,"value":"dogs_outcomes_by_age = dogs_outcomes_by_age_grouped.reduce((acc, curr) => {\n let isElemExist = acc.findIndex(item => {\n return item.age === curr.age && item.outcome === curr.outcome;\n })\n if (isElemExist === -1) {\n let obj = {};\n obj.age = curr.age;\n obj.outcome = curr.outcome;\n obj.count = 1;\n acc.push(obj)\n } else {\n acc[isElemExist].count += 1\n }\n return acc;\n}, [])","pinned":true,"hidden":false,"mode":"ojs","author":"$undefined","summary":"$undefined","output":"$undefined","database":"$undefined"},{"id":18,"value":"viewof explore = navio(dogs, {attribWidth: 30, height: 400})","pinned":true,"hidden":false,"mode":"ojs","author":"$undefined","summary":"$undefined","output":"$undefined","database":"$undefined"},{"id":1230,"value":"Inputs.table(explore)","pinned":true,"hidden":false,"mode":"ojs","author":"$undefined","summary":"$undefined","output":"$undefined","database":"$undefined"},{"id":472,"value":"import { StackedBarChart as StackedHorizontalBarChart } from \"@d3/stacked-horizontal-bar-chart\"","pinned":true,"hidden":false,"mode":"ojs","author":"$undefined","summary":"$undefined","output":"$undefined","database":"$undefined"},{"id":8,"value":"import { StackedBarChart as NormalizedBarChart } from \"@incakoala/stacked-bar-chart-normalized\"","pinned":true,"hidden":false,"mode":"ojs","author":"$undefined","summary":"$undefined","output":"$undefined","database":"$undefined"},{"id":137,"value":"import { Legend, Swatches } from \"@d3/color-legend\"","pinned":true,"hidden":false,"mode":"ojs","author":"$undefined","summary":"$undefined","output":"$undefined","database":"$undefined"},{"id":3,"value":"import { navio } from \"@john-guerra/navio\"","pinned":true,"hidden":false,"mode":"ojs","author":"$undefined","summary":"$undefined","output":"$undefined","database":"$undefined"},{"id":952,"value":"import {loadSocrata} from \"@john-guerra/socrata-load-multiples-pages\"","pinned":true,"hidden":false,"mode":"ojs","author":"$undefined","summary":"$undefined","output":"$undefined","database":"$undefined"},{"id":1222,"value":"import {aq,op} from \"@uwdata/arquero\"","pinned":true,"hidden":false,"mode":"ojs","author":"$undefined","summary":"$undefined","output":"$undefined","database":"$undefined"}],"files":"$W3a","stdlib":"1","titling":"auto"}} 34:"$33:body"