Information

Researcher: Bree Merritt, PhD Student
Email: pre-owned.dogs@rvc.ac.uk

Supervisor: Dr Rowena Packer
Email: rpacker@rvc.ac.uk

I’m Bree Merritt, a vet and a PhD student at the Royal Veterinary College, University of London interested in how dogs are rehomed. I’m part of the team researching current canine welfare issues in the UK.

I would like to invite you to take part in an interview for a research study to understand how and why UK residents use online classified advertisements to buy, sell or rehome dogs, and their experience of the process including before and after the advertising and sale.

Participation in the study is entirely voluntary. Please read the information below before deciding whether or not to take part. If anything is unclear, or you would like more information, please contact me, Bree Merritt or my supervisor Dr Rowena Packer by email (addresses at the top of this page). This study has been approved by The Royal Veterinary College’s Social Science Research Ethical Review Board (Ref: SR2024 - 01263110) and is funded by Dogs Trust.

Who is eligible to take part?
I’d like to interview people of different ages and genders with different types of dogs.
You may take part if:
  • You are 18 years old or over.
  • You are a UK resident.
  • You bought, sold or rehomed a dog aged 4 months or older through an online classified advertisement between 1 January 2023 and 30 November 2024.
  • The advertisement was on a dedicated online selling platform (examples: Gumtree, Pets4Homes) rather than a social media post or advert, nor the seller’s own website.
If someone else in your household was the person who placed or responded to the advertisement for your dog, then I would be grateful if you would ask them if they would like to participate instead by showing them this information.

What does being interviewed involve?
I will interview you for about one hour on a video call at a time and date to suit us both. I’ll be interviewing you to find out your experiences and feelings, so there are no wrong answers. It should feel like a conversation, and I will have a list of topics to guide the conversation to the topics I wish to learn about.

I will email you within 6 – 8 weeks to tell you whether or not you have been chosen for an interview – I will try to interview as many people as I can.