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Adoption Process and Customer Service

By Mary Samples, National Adoption Program Manager

Petco works with more than 3,000 adoption organizations nationwide. We pride ourselves on our Think Adoption First® mission to “raise the quality of life for pets and people who love and need them.” It is truly a pleasure to support adoption organizations that share our mission.

As you are aware, the adoption process is an important one for both your organization and the potential adopter. At the end of the adoption process, your organization has saved a life, and an animal has found a safe, loving home. It is a defining moment for the adopter and their family. And how your adoption process works can directly affect the adopter’s experience. Better yet, when you reject an adopter’s application, what effect does that have on the consideration of adoption versus the purchase of an animal through a breeder or even on Craigslist?

As the Think Adoption First team here at Petco, we have heard stories from our customers and peers about being rejected for adoption for one reason or another. These rejections can have an extremely negative effect on the customer and have undoubtedly changed their views about adoption. What if the customer was just really new to the notion of adoption or what if they went out of their way to adopt from your organization? Are the adoption requirements perhaps too strict and end up turning potential adopters away? And, perhaps most importantly, how is this impacting the rates of euthanasia in your community? All of these questions and more have raised concerns over the effectiveness of the adoption process.

I would like to share a story from a woman who had a negative experience while trying to adopt an animal. This customer had wanted a dog for several years. She had been waiting for the “right situation” to get a dog, knowing that a dog needs a certain environment, time allotted for attention and training and, of course, endless amounts of love.

The woman reached out to me for help and explained that she and her fiancé were ready to get a dog to start their family. She explained that she had a condo that allowed for large breed dogs, she had family support in the area and felt that she was in a great financial situation to ensure she could support the needs of a dog. She felt like this was the perfect time for her and her fiancé to take the next step. I happily pointed her in the direction of working with our adoption partners.

A week later, she contacted me to let me know that adoption was not right for her. When I asked her why, she said that the adoption process was extremely overwhelming. In addition to completing an adoption application, she said a pre-home visit was required and that she was asked to sign a form stating that the organization was allowed to visit her home anytime post-adoption. She said she was also told that, should an emergency arise, the agency—not her—would remain the primary contact on the dog’s microchip ID.

She later checked with a breeder to see what kind of information was required to purchase a pet, and discovered that nothing was required. Ultimately, she decided she didn’t want to purchase from a breeder. And because she was turned off by the adoption process, she has chosen not to save an animal at all.

What if this was your organization? Do you know that when someone has a bad experience, they will tell 10 people, and then those 10 people will tell 10 and so on? You might say to yourself, “That’s OK, there are other adopters more suited for this animal.” But by the time you found another adopter, you could have already placed this animal into a loving home and picked another one out from the shelter.

I shared this story with all of you as our Petco Adoption Partners because we tend to look at how many animals we adopt and not at how many animals lose out on the chance for a great home because of a burdensome adoption process. How many homes are lost because the adoption process is too invasive and too extensive?

The Think Adoption First team and Petco understand the goal is find good homes for animals in need. We agree that organizations must have policies, but we are urging all organizations to take a look at how these policies might interfere with the goal of reducing euthanasia.

I was able to collect some best practices from organizations that have been able to save a lot of lives without risking good homes for animals;

• Instead of relying on forms, spend time talking with and educating the potential adopter. But don’t interrogate; you may be working with a new pet parent who just needs time to learn the ins and outs of pet parenthood.

• Use Google Earth to check out the potential pet parent’s home, as opposed to completing a home visit. This is less invasive but still allows you to ensure that the customer is being honest about their property.

• Assume positive intent. Most pet parents are looking to adopt because they truly love animals. It is important to remember that these potential adopters are the “good guys” and should be approached as such.

• Use pet-abuse.com as a resource to check for any prior animal abuse convictions. This website was founded in 2001 and is the first searchable database of animal cruelty.

• Always list the pet parent as the first contact on any microchip ID or tracking information. It is important to recognize that things happen and this is the new pet parent’s “fur-child;” if anything happens, the parent will want to be notified first.

• Open adoptions to those 18 years or older. Some contracts require 21 years or older. There are many 18-year-olds who are very capable of being responsible pet parents.

• Remember that the adopter is doing the right thing by adopting. If you turn them away, they might go to Craigslist or to a breeder—and this will not help your organization place an animal in a lifelong home.

• Make sure that your adoption form is not digging too deeply into the private life of your adopter.

• Ask another agency to look at your form and give you feedback.

• Rethink your policy on requiring post-adoption visits. Doing so can send the message that you don’t trust the adopter to properly care for the animal. There are many ways for people to find pets; wouldn’t you rather that pet came from your organization?

Once the animal is registered in the new parent’s name and the adoption is final, the animal is theirs—and we as rescue groups need to let go. By asking for veterinary records and follow-up visits, we are again telling the parents that we don’t trust them to have an animal.

We urge you to look into your adoption process and remove these unnecessary roadblocks.

We hope that you find these tips useful and chose to implement them in your shelter. This may increase adoptions in your organization and contribute to the greater mission of reducing the rate of euthanasia in this country.

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