To calculate the probability of randomly choosing a dog from the animal shelter, we need to determine the ratio of the number of dogs to the total number of animals.
Total number of animals = 48 cats + 12 dogs = 60 animals
Number of dogs = 12 dogs
Probability of choosing a dog = Number of dogs / Total number of animals = 12 / 60 = 1/5 = 0.2
Therefore, the probability of randomly choosing a dog is 0.2 or 20%.