Motivation of Portuguese-Speaking Pet Owners Seeking Online Pet Health and Husbandry Information

Abstract

Internet use for pet health information is increasing in popularity among pet owners. So far, evidence on motivations and topics of interest is limited to surveys on English speaking countries. The objective was to evaluate the motivations of Portuguese-speaking pet owners when visiting a pet information website, written by a certified veterinarian. In situ needs and motivations of visitors were evaluated by classifying online questions (n = 202) and conducting a short questionnaire in the website sidebar (n = 453). Most pet owners were looking for general advice (73.9%), especially on systems with visible disease signs, being motivated by the lack of access to veterinary services due to costs (17.7%), support from other pet owners (11.3%), and complementing the insufficient information provided by the veterinarian (7.7%). Brazilians reported more lack of veterinary access due to costs compared to Portuguese respondents. Thus, Portuguese-speaking pet owners engaged in online searches to seek affordable veterinary care, better information, and emotional support.