Animal Welfare Professionals

This message was posted by a user wishing to remain anonymous

Hello! 

I work a county ran shelter that will be offering a lot of services to help people who are in danger of surrendering their pets. We should be opening sometime this spring/summer. We are currently looking into different software/programs that will help with our mission of keeping pets with their families. One resource is training help for basic issues that may lead to surrender. I came across Petcadamy and it sounds perfect for that and for adoption and foster! We also had a meeting with Petzel. That one sounds amazing too! My question is, is it beneficial to have both? I worry for adopters it may be too much having two different programs they will be automatically signed up to. Does anyone who has both have any insight? 

#Behavior,TrainingandEnrichment
#DataandTechnology

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I hope the Petzel and Petcademy users can chime in for advice. The thing I've heard that orgs like about Petcademy is that it is text-based. But I cannot evaluate the services as a user. 

You could also consider Free Dog Trainers. It really is free! I just visited a shelter that has implemented it. It is free behavior support for life for anyone in your community: adopters, fosters, and just plain ol' dog owners who are having difficulties communicating with their dogs. Again, I can't comment on the program from the user side. 

Ultimately, any of these three programs will be more support for families in your community, and I applaud you for thinking about reaching owners before they are in crisis mode. 

Erika

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Erika Shaffer
Instructional Designer
Maddie's Fund
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I just came here with the same question! Wondering if you had any update? I would love to implement both but am unsure if it would be too much for the user experience on the adopter end.

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Kimberly Franchino
Bideawee
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Hi all - Bailey here, founder of Petcademy 👋

Petcademy exists to support the behavior and training questions that most often lead to surrender - the "we're overwhelmed and not sure what to do" moments. Things like house training, night crying, introductions between pets, jumping, resource guarding, litter box concerns, leash pulling, etc. Those early stress points are where families either get support - or start considering returning the pet.

Our model is simple:

• Text-based (no app download)

• Real-time guidance grounded in positive reinforcement

• Structured escalation paths back to the shelter/rescue when needed

• Designed to reduce returns and reduce staff workload

Because it's SMS-based, engagement tends to be strong (+60% of pet parents will engage with our team) - families can reach out the moment something happens, rather than waiting to call during business hours. 

If you'd like to learn more, please schedule time on my calendar here: https://calendly.com/bailey-schroeder/15-product-demo?back=1 

I'd love to chat!

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bailey schroeder
Co-founder and CEO
Petcademy
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Original Message:
Sent: 02-27-2026 08:12 AM
From: Kimberly Franchino
Subject: Petcadamy & Petzel

I just came here with the same question! Wondering if you had any update? I would love to implement both but am unsure if it would be too much for the user experience on the adopter end.

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Kimberly Franchino
Bideawee
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This message was posted by a user wishing to remain anonymous

We just started using Petcadamy in January. We have an estimated 5000 adoptions yearly, partly-open intake no-kill-type shelter.  I am in our behavior department and we had a free behavior helpline that often got overwhelmed with very basic behavior questions, puppy potty training, etc. We picked Petcadamy because it was better for dogs and cats, foster, adopter and considering intake folks. 

The help it gives is basic but good, all positive reinforcement and modern/updated techniques. More complex behavior concerns are escalated to our team via email so we can reach out for more advanced issues. I like that you can see exactly what people are being told on the admin dashboard and who has needed help. 

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We use Petzel, and highly recommend it. It has been great for communication with adopters and does a great job showing us "stats" for how adoptions are going and notifying us of any potential concerns. Adopters seem to like it as well! 

We do still offer less tech-savvy adopters the option of a phone call to check in versus the text/email default for Petzel. 

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Erin Dams
Operations Director
Roanoke Valley SPCA
Roanoke VA
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