Animal Welfare Professionals

Hello all, 

We are a small foster based rescue. We take in dogs, cats, small critters and birds and on occasion, farm animals if we can find a foster or adopter available. We have been looking at our data for the past few years and trying to figure out ways to increase our impact given the limitations we face. We are still collecting and submitting all of our data manually (to save money) so this takes some doing. We are committed though and always looking at ways to grow. 

My question to everyone (and I apologize if this has been asked and answered elsewhere) is, if you are a foster-based rescue, do you have a specific process that you follow in terms of the time an animal comes into your care to the time they are adopted? Do you follow certain steps or rules to promote a quicker adoption (start promoting the pet on intake for example) or do you let things flow without any set plan? If you have a plan, would you be willing to share your process?

Thank you for any insights you are willing to share!

#AdmissionsandIntake(includingIntake-to-placement)

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Michele Ting
Resource Manager
Pawsibilities
NV
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Hi!

We are a foster based rescue here in Michigan. Though we cannot always guarantee a specific timeframe when issues or emergencies pop-up but we do have a process to follow to get a foster dog medically cleared before adoption and promoted.

When we get a new pug intake and transferred to a foster home, we make a social media post welcoming in the new dog. Our community always gets so excited to follow their journey. Then behind the scenes we have a process we follow to get them medically cleared (spay/neuter, microchip, get utd vaccines, and have all medical issues addressed). I work with our foster families to get all of this done as soon as we can, then once I medically clear the dog, we get them listed on social media and our website that we're now accepting applications for adoption. This is usually one of the longer parts since we really want to make sure we accept the right adoption family that's the best for for the dog. Throughout this process, we also post foster pug updates, for example if one dog had bladder surgery, another had a neuter, and another just go their final vaccines to get utd shots, we make one post noting the updates that they're healing well from these surgeries, etc..and should be ready for adoption soon. And we always include picture or videos. This helps us keep people engaged in their journey. We use Facebook, Instagram and now tiktok, but Facebook is our main one because we also share our pugs and rescue information in local community groups.

Hope this helps!

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Hali Fortuna
Board Director & Foster Coordinator
Mid Michigan Pug Club and Rescue
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Hi! We're also a foster-based rescue and completely understand the challenges that come with limited resources and managing everything manually. It's great that you're taking the time to analyze your data and look for ways to grow your impact.

For us, we do try to follow a general process from intake to adoption to help move dogs through the system more efficiently. Once a dog enters our care, we prioritize getting their veterinary needs addressed right away (vaccines, spay/neuter if needed, and any medical treatment). At the same time, we work with the foster to gather photos, videos, and notes about the dog's personality and behavior in the home.

We typically begin promoting the dog fairly early-often shortly after intake-especially on social media and adoption platforms. We've found that early exposure helps build interest while the dog is settling into foster care. As the foster learns more about the dog, we update the listing with additional details so potential adopters have a clearer picture of the pet.

Another thing that has helped us is hosting meet-and-greets or adoption events when possible. They've been a great way for people to interact with the dogs in person and often lead to quicker placements.

That said, we do try to stay flexible since every animal is different. Some need more time in foster to decompress or work on training before being promoted heavily.

We're always learning and adjusting our process as well, so we'd also love to hear what strategies others have found successful!

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Julie Beatty
Grants Coordinator
Ziva Dog Rescue
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We are also very a very small foster based rescue. We intake kittens at the neonate stage so most of the time we just start posting pics on social media instantly. Our followers like seeing the babies grow and ultimately many of them over  time will end up getting organically pre-adopted without even trying too hard. For those adoptions that fall through or that don't get pre-adopted, we begin announcing them as soon available about a week before their spay neuter dates. Again this all through social media. We do have a standing adoption event on Saturdays with our local Petco so once the kittens have been medically cleared they get to come to the events for adoptions.  

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Keri Nichol
Volunteer
Wildwood Kitten Haven and NICU
MO
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