Animal Welfare Professionals

Last month, we focused on collecting kitten related resources to help organizations prepare for the busy kitten season. This month, we're focusing on all things adoption to help get more animals out of the shelter and into loving homes.

UPLOAD/SHARE YOUR FAVORITE ADOPTION RESOURCES

We know that adoption touches many aspects of your organization. Our goal is to build a resource center that can be useful for all the areas that adoption plays a role in. 

Do you provide adoption counseling services or handouts for new adopters? Do you have an amazing Adoption Program Coordinator job description? What has your most successful adoption event looked like? We want to hear it! Reply to this thread and attach your adoption surveys, questionnaires, adoption event flyers or anything related to increasing successful adoptions! 

All adoption related resources will be placed in this Adoption folder in the Resource Library: https://maddies.fund/adoptionresources

🤑 Participation = Your Entry To Win 🤑

Everyone who uploads a file, shares a resource on this thread or replies with a successful adoption technique or story during the month of March will be entered to win a $50 gift card to Amazon, Petco or PetSmart (winner's choice).  Start sharing now!

Pro-Tips for sharing resources: 

• Use the "Upload File" button when replying to this thread to attach a file. We encourage you to attach the file versus hyperlinking to the file whenever possible. Files that are attached to discussion threads are automatically added to the Maddie's Pet Forum Resource Library so attaching helps make the resource searchable and improves accessibility within the forum.
• Yes, you can share resources that your organization did not create. Sharing is caring and this applies to resources too! Make sure the creator allows the resource to be shared publicly and be sure to give credit to the creator or source organization.

#AdoptionsandAdoptionPrograms
#MarketingandSocialMedia
#PetSupportServices*

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Charlotte Otero
Community Strategist at Maddie's Fund
she/her
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Our rescue does a wide variety of things surrounding adoptions!

• We give adopter contact information to the foster so they can establish a good relationship which has been proven to be such a huge part for a successful adoption because our fosters know their fosters best and can answer any questions the potential adopters may have. 
• We do 4 important steps before finalizing an adoption that we feel is not only necessary, but also responsible on our part. 1- either virtual or home visit of potential adopters to ensure environment will be safe. 2- landlord check if  renters to make sure they're allowed to have pets 3- reference checks for safety purposes for the animal and 4- meet and greet! The foster and potential adopter set up a day and time that they can go to fosters home to not only see what feline is like in person, but to also see if they'll be a good fit for one another as well which is definitely important. (If prior to this taking place their application is fully processed and they want to adopt, they can take animal home during this visit.) 
• I've uploaded a handout we put in adoption folder called 3/3/3 to explain to adopter what they can expect at 3 days, 3 weeks and 3 months in terms of animal adjusting to their new home. 
• We have adoption bags that contain their folder with 2 copies of contract as we keep 1 filled out one for our records, a little tie blanket, their vet passport, extra microchip stickers and how to register animal and microchip in your name. 
• Our fosters send with a small supply of current food so adopters can mix with what they'll feed to help animal transition and avoid upset stomachs.
• A lot of our fosters, myself included, will send with a favorite toy so they have something they're not only familiar with, but still has the scent of their foster home as well to help them transition better. 
• A lot of our fosters, myself included, will stay in touch with adopters and ask how things are going a few days after adoption. Plus, we all love getting updates especially pictures of our foster babies!

Our adoption coordinator does an amazing job at getting applications processed thoroughly within a short time frame to keep the process moving along smoothly! 

Hope some of these practices will be helpful to some of you!

Tracy Hanson 
Ellie's Legacy Pet Rescue

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Tracy Hanson
Ellie's Legacy Pet Rescue
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My all-time favorite Adoption resource is the Adopters Welcome Manual from the Humane Society of the United States. If you haven't read through it yet, I highly recommend it. I'm attaching the complete manual here. You can also download individual sections of the manual on the HSUS's Adopters Welcome Manual webpage.

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Kim Domerofski (she/her)
Community Manager
Maddie's Fund
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Forever and always! <3

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Mandy Newkirk
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Original Message:
Sent: 03-14-2022 09:35 AM
From: Kim Domerofski
Subject: March 2022 Resource Drive: All Things Adoption

My all-time favorite Adoption resource is the Adopters Welcome Manual from the Humane Society of the United States. If you haven't read through it yet, I highly recommend it. I'm attaching the complete manual here. You can also download individual sections of the manual on the HSUS's Adopters Welcome Manual webpage.

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Kim Domerofski (she/her)
Community Manager
Maddie's Fund
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This is a great conversation topic! We recently hired several new Adoption Specialists. I've included our job descriptions for full and part time AS positions.

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Erin Ellis
Community Engagement Director
Humane Society of Truckee-Tahoe

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Foster Program & Volunteer Management Specialist
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We team up with partners to provide stuff in the electronic adoption packet, including petco for coupons, michelson for chip information, Recipawsity for free coffee cups with pets pics, free catnip from a local grower, and discounted flea meds from a local supplier.  We also include introducing another cat or kitten to your pets links for articles from Maddie's, Best Friends, and HSUS.

https://bestfriends.org/stories/features/introducing-cats-each-other
https://www.humanesociety.org/resources/introducing-your-new-cat-resident-cats
https://www.maddiesfund.org/introducing-cats-to-other-cats.htm


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Frances Alford
Director
Its Meow or Never for Ferals
8507569776
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Here are a couple of Maddie's University courses on conversation-based adoptions that could be useful for adoption counselors:
Open Cat Adoptions: Keep Them Moving, Get Them Home
Open Dog Adoptions: Eliminating Roadblocks to Positive Outcomes

And here are a couple of courses that could be useful for new adopters:
Bringing a New Dog Home
Helping a New Dog Adjust

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Erika Shaffer
Course Developer at Maddie's Fund
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Thanks to those who shared adoption related resources in March! You can find those resources and others here: https://maddies.fund/adoptionresources

And the winner of the $50 gift card goes to @Frances Alford! 🎉  Thanks for sharing some of your favorite adoption resources with the community.

Keep an eye out for the April resource drive which will launch later this week with a focus on fostering! And even though the adoption resource drive drawing is complete, please don't hesitate to keep sharing any adoption resources on this thread. 
​

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Charlotte Otero
Community Strategist at Maddie's Fund
she/her
------------------------------

Thank you so much!!!

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Frances Alford
Director
Big Bend TNR Cat Rescue
Tallahassee FL
8507569776
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Original Message:
Sent: 04-05-2022 01:05 PM
From: Charlotte Otero
Subject: March 2022 Resource Drive: All Things Adoption

Thanks to those who shared adoption related resources in March! You can find those resources and others here: https://maddies.fund/adoptionresources

And the winner of the $50 gift card goes to @Frances Alford! 🎉  Thanks for sharing some of your favorite adoption resources with the community.

Keep an eye out for the April resource drive which will launch later this week with a focus on fostering! And even though the adoption resource drive drawing is complete, please don't hesitate to keep sharing any adoption resources on this thread. 
​

------------------------------
Charlotte Otero
Community Strategist at Maddie's Fund
she/her
------------------------------