We're looking to learn how other private nonprofit animal welfare organizations are currently handling owner surrender requests.
Like many organizations, we receive far more requests than we have the capacity to accept, and we're reviewing our process to determine what is working well elsewhere.
For those willing to share, we'd love to know:
· Do you currently accept owner surrenders? If so, under what circumstances?
· Do you maintain a waitlist, use appointments, or make intake decisions case by case?
· Do you charge or request an owner surrender/intake fee?
· What questions do you ask to determine why the owner needs to surrender the animal?
· Do you have a formal diversion or "rehome" program designed to help owners keep their pets or find a new home without shelter intake?
· What resources do you provide-behavior support, veterinary assistance, pet food, temporary fostering, housing resources, rehoming websites, etc.?
· Do you provide financial assistance when the barrier to keeping the pet is something that could potentially be resolved?
· If you do not accept the animal, what resources or next steps do you provide to the owner?
· Have you changed the terminology you use with the public from "owner surrender" to "rehoming" or something similar? If so, has that made a difference in how people approach the process?
· What has worked particularly well for your organization? And just as importantly, what have you tried that didn't work?
We're especially interested in actual policies, procedures, forms, resource lists, website pages, or programs that organizations are willing to share.
Thank you in advance for sharing what your organization is doing and what you've learned along the way.
#Rehoming------------------------------
Christine Orbeck
Board Director
Fearless Kitty Rescue
AZ
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