Why are shelters so full? Is it because there aren't enough people who want to adopt anymore or is it because we aren't expert converters of foot traffic to adoption? Yesterday in a meeting with HASS Pilot Shelter Directors we discussed  the Competitive Pet Placement Project (CPP) results from a super exciting pilot project supported by PetSmart Charities and led by the Human Animal Support Services Project.

CPP is about assessing our ability to compete with the on-demand breeder market that is taking our homes. The data collected from 5 shelters across the US shows us that more than enough people are coming in but people are leaving without a pet due to barriers like long wait times. These aren't new problems and I think we mostly chalk them up to barriers we can't fix but we found that we actually can! 

Two questions for you: 1. Do you know your conversion rate of people walking in to those taking a pet home, same day? 2. If it is higher than 20%, what are you doing to get those pets home?

Why are shelters so full? Is it because there aren't enough people who want to adopt anymore or is it because we aren't expert converters of foot traffic to adoption? Yesterday in a meeting with HASS Pilot Shelter Directors we discussed  the Competitive Pet Placement Project (CPP) results from a super exciting pilot project supported by PetSmart Charities and led by the Human Animal Support Services Project.

CPP is about assessing our ability to compete with the on-demand breeder market that is taking our homes. The data collected from 5 shelters across the US shows us that more than enough people are coming in but people are leaving without a pet due to barriers like long wait times. These aren't new problems and I think we mostly chalk them up to barriers we can't fix but we found that we actually can! 

Two questions for you: 1. Do you know your conversion rate of people walking in to those taking a pet home, same day? 2. If it is higher than 20%, what are you doing to get those pets home?

If people/counties/governments would focus more on the root of the problem which is why the animals are there in the first place,  we would make much better strides/advances and make the world a better place for animals.  In almost 20 years of doing cat rescue I would say 90-95% of our cats (and we rescue 650-700 annually and TNR a few hundred more) are born of ferals and friendly strays that well intentioned people start feeding but fail to spay/neuter.  They "can't afford" to spay 1 so they end up feeding 6, then 11, then 16 and THEN they start calling around for help because they do not of any resources.  Sometimes there are resources available but not accessible/affordable to those with more than just a couple and not convenient and appointments can be weeks or months out depending on the time of the year. Our counties should begin to charge everyone homeowner $5 or $10 on their annual tax bill and that money should go strictly toward free and easily accessible spay/neuter for their county-there should be multiple clinics with varying schedules to accommodate those who work and may have to travel a distance to get to the clinics.  Right now most places are like the little boy with his finger in the dike- putting a band aid on the problem/disease instead of fixing/curing the root cause--the animals keep coming only to suffer. Lets get to the root of the problem and keep MANY more out of shelters to begin with.  Everyone who walks in a shelter is not a qualified adopter nor a forever home unfortunately. We're adopting out animals not selling cars (not trying to be disrespectful at all and I apologize if it comes off that way) Just can't think of a nicer way to say it at this moment. 

Why are shelters so full? Is it because there aren't enough people who want to adopt anymore or is it because we aren't expert converters of foot traffic to adoption? Yesterday in a meeting with HASS Pilot Shelter Directors we discussed  the Competitive Pet Placement Project (CPP) results from a super exciting pilot project supported by PetSmart Charities and led by the Human Animal Support Services Project.

CPP is about assessing our ability to compete with the on-demand breeder market that is taking our homes. The data collected from 5 shelters across the US shows us that more than enough people are coming in but people are leaving without a pet due to barriers like long wait times. These aren't new problems and I think we mostly chalk them up to barriers we can't fix but we found that we actually can! 

Two questions for you: 1. Do you know your conversion rate of people walking in to those taking a pet home, same day? 2. If it is higher than 20%, what are you doing to get those pets home?

If people/counties/governments would focus more on the root of the problem which is why the animals are there in the first place,  we would make much better strides/advances and make the world a better place for animals.  In almost 20 years of doing cat rescue I would say 90-95% of our cats (and we rescue 650-700 annually and TNR a few hundred more) are born of ferals and friendly strays that well intentioned people start feeding but fail to spay/neuter.  They "can't afford" to spay 1 so they end up feeding 6, then 11, then 16 and THEN they start calling around for help because they do not of any resources.  Sometimes there are resources available but not accessible/affordable to those with more than just a couple and not convenient and appointments can be weeks or months out depending on the time of the year. Our counties should begin to charge everyone homeowner $5 or $10 on their annual tax bill and that money should go strictly toward free and easily accessible spay/neuter for their county-there should be multiple clinics with varying schedules to accommodate those who work and may have to travel a distance to get to the clinics.  Right now most places are like the little boy with his finger in the dike- putting a band aid on the problem/disease instead of fixing/curing the root cause--the animals keep coming only to suffer. Lets get to the root of the problem and keep MANY more out of shelters to begin with.  Everyone who walks in a shelter is not a qualified adopter nor a forever home unfortunately. We're adopting out animals not selling cars (not trying to be disrespectful at all and I apologize if it comes off that way) Just can't think of a nicer way to say it at this moment. 

Why are shelters so full? Is it because there aren't enough people who want to adopt anymore or is it because we aren't expert converters of foot traffic to adoption? Yesterday in a meeting with HASS Pilot Shelter Directors we discussed  the Competitive Pet Placement Project (CPP) results from a super exciting pilot project supported by PetSmart Charities and led by the Human Animal Support Services Project.

CPP is about assessing our ability to compete with the on-demand breeder market that is taking our homes. The data collected from 5 shelters across the US shows us that more than enough people are coming in but people are leaving without a pet due to barriers like long wait times. These aren't new problems and I think we mostly chalk them up to barriers we can't fix but we found that we actually can! 

Two questions for you: 1. Do you know your conversion rate of people walking in to those taking a pet home, same day? 2. If it is higher than 20%, what are you doing to get those pets home?

I just had a meeting with my State/County/city reps regarding a proposed .001% sales tax on pet product purchases to pool funding at a State level for a humane breeder program (similar to restaurant health inspections based on breeder licensed size) and mandatory S/N/V/C or heavy fees for unaltered/mandatory registration as  breeder.

I was basically told without the support of the AKC they'd get no where. I've tried reaching out. No one wants to talk with me.  The reps said they recommend I raise $1M and "live" off the interest.  They offered to help with seed money and said to just ask, there's lots of $ out there.  My problem now is "what's my ask?"  How much will it take to offer no cost S/N/V/C. Obviously dedicated facilities, surgical teams, pre-post op techs, transportation, advertising, educational outreach, etc. 

My goal is pets with people, educational outreach and slowing the flow of the abused, abandoned and discarded.  I whole heartedly would love to see some methodology that is palatable to the A K C, taxpayers and stops the backyard/curbside quick cash breeders.

Please update if you make any headway. 

If people/counties/governments would focus more on the root of the problem which is why the animals are there in the first place,  we would make much better strides/advances and make the world a better place for animals.  In almost 20 years of doing cat rescue I would say 90-95% of our cats (and we rescue 650-700 annually and TNR a few hundred more) are born of ferals and friendly strays that well intentioned people start feeding but fail to spay/neuter.  They "can't afford" to spay 1 so they end up feeding 6, then 11, then 16 and THEN they start calling around for help because they do not of any resources.  Sometimes there are resources available but not accessible/affordable to those with more than just a couple and not convenient and appointments can be weeks or months out depending on the time of the year. Our counties should begin to charge everyone homeowner $5 or $10 on their annual tax bill and that money should go strictly toward free and easily accessible spay/neuter for their county-there should be multiple clinics with varying schedules to accommodate those who work and may have to travel a distance to get to the clinics.  Right now most places are like the little boy with his finger in the dike- putting a band aid on the problem/disease instead of fixing/curing the root cause--the animals keep coming only to suffer. Lets get to the root of the problem and keep MANY more out of shelters to begin with.  Everyone who walks in a shelter is not a qualified adopter nor a forever home unfortunately. We're adopting out animals not selling cars (not trying to be disrespectful at all and I apologize if it comes off that way) Just can't think of a nicer way to say it at this moment. 

Why are shelters so full? Is it because there aren't enough people who want to adopt anymore or is it because we aren't expert converters of foot traffic to adoption? Yesterday in a meeting with HASS Pilot Shelter Directors we discussed  the Competitive Pet Placement Project (CPP) results from a super exciting pilot project supported by PetSmart Charities and led by the Human Animal Support Services Project.

CPP is about assessing our ability to compete with the on-demand breeder market that is taking our homes. The data collected from 5 shelters across the US shows us that more than enough people are coming in but people are leaving without a pet due to barriers like long wait times. These aren't new problems and I think we mostly chalk them up to barriers we can't fix but we found that we actually can! 

Two questions for you: 1. Do you know your conversion rate of people walking in to those taking a pet home, same day? 2. If it is higher than 20%, what are you doing to get those pets home?

When I worked at the Humane Society of NY, and now again as an independent rescuer, as well as a foster mom for a local rescue let me put it this way: I am 'choosy'. Why? because I see making a good adoption as a matchmaker service. When I worked at Humane I had a great guy come in who was very headstrong. He wanted a kitten. He was a new attorney, worked long hours, and wasn't home. I wouldn't adopt a kitten to him because yes, he was responsible and loving-but he wasn't really able to give a kitten what it would need and he almost had a conniption. Luckily, after cooling off from being told why-he did see reason. He asked me 'what cat would you think then would be best?' I lined him up with a petsitter and introduced him to two cats that had been returned when their person died. They were ten, but both were friendly, sweet, and playful. A year later he wrote me to thank me and sent a donation. He referred others as well.  Two years ago here I had a new potential adopter who had never had a cat before. She came with her friend, several times, to visit with the young cat she wanted. Her friend had cats and they were able to talk when here about the cats needs. They were both college students-but she rented an apartment and we went to do a home visit and saw how well she had prepared! As luck would have it she chose a cat that would do best as an only cat. This year she sent us a sweet email with pictures of her and her adopted cat! They have  moved to North Carolina as she finished her Masters and is starting a job there. She said 'thank you for making me feel like not only was I an adopter, but part of your large, extended family. She knows she can pick up the phone at any time and connect with us. We look on every potential adopter as someone who's searching for a special someone but we do make it clear that like adopting a child it will be a process because we want it to last.  I know shelters don't always have this option, and do their best. But looking at making a match rather than placing an animal is sometimes a different and perhaps more successful approach, perhaps.  P.S. The picture is of Miss Blue, who got a great home at age 11 after being left in a parking lot of our local Pizza Hut where the manager was threatening to shoot her. We trapped her, realized she was not feral, vetted her out, and persuaded someone who thought they wanted a kitten that Miss Blue was their match. She's the Queen B of the house. 

I just had a meeting with my State/County/city reps regarding a proposed .001% sales tax on pet product purchases to pool funding at a State level for a humane breeder program (similar to restaurant health inspections based on breeder licensed size) and mandatory S/N/V/C or heavy fees for unaltered/mandatory registration as  breeder.

I was basically told without the support of the AKC they'd get no where. I've tried reaching out. No one wants to talk with me.  The reps said they recommend I raise $1M and "live" off the interest.  They offered to help with seed money and said to just ask, there's lots of $ out there.  My problem now is "what's my ask?"  How much will it take to offer no cost S/N/V/C. Obviously dedicated facilities, surgical teams, pre-post op techs, transportation, advertising, educational outreach, etc. 

My goal is pets with people, educational outreach and slowing the flow of the abused, abandoned and discarded.  I whole heartedly would love to see some methodology that is palatable to the A K C, taxpayers and stops the backyard/curbside quick cash breeders.

Please update if you make any headway. 

If people/counties/governments would focus more on the root of the problem which is why the animals are there in the first place,  we would make much better strides/advances and make the world a better place for animals.  In almost 20 years of doing cat rescue I would say 90-95% of our cats (and we rescue 650-700 annually and TNR a few hundred more) are born of ferals and friendly strays that well intentioned people start feeding but fail to spay/neuter.  They "can't afford" to spay 1 so they end up feeding 6, then 11, then 16 and THEN they start calling around for help because they do not of any resources.  Sometimes there are resources available but not accessible/affordable to those with more than just a couple and not convenient and appointments can be weeks or months out depending on the time of the year. Our counties should begin to charge everyone homeowner $5 or $10 on their annual tax bill and that money should go strictly toward free and easily accessible spay/neuter for their county-there should be multiple clinics with varying schedules to accommodate those who work and may have to travel a distance to get to the clinics.  Right now most places are like the little boy with his finger in the dike- putting a band aid on the problem/disease instead of fixing/curing the root cause--the animals keep coming only to suffer. Lets get to the root of the problem and keep MANY more out of shelters to begin with.  Everyone who walks in a shelter is not a qualified adopter nor a forever home unfortunately. We're adopting out animals not selling cars (not trying to be disrespectful at all and I apologize if it comes off that way) Just can't think of a nicer way to say it at this moment. 

Why are shelters so full? Is it because there aren't enough people who want to adopt anymore or is it because we aren't expert converters of foot traffic to adoption? Yesterday in a meeting with HASS Pilot Shelter Directors we discussed  the Competitive Pet Placement Project (CPP) results from a super exciting pilot project supported by PetSmart Charities and led by the Human Animal Support Services Project.

CPP is about assessing our ability to compete with the on-demand breeder market that is taking our homes. The data collected from 5 shelters across the US shows us that more than enough people are coming in but people are leaving without a pet due to barriers like long wait times. These aren't new problems and I think we mostly chalk them up to barriers we can't fix but we found that we actually can! 

Two questions for you: 1. Do you know your conversion rate of people walking in to those taking a pet home, same day? 2. If it is higher than 20%, what are you doing to get those pets home?

I just had a meeting with my State/County/city reps regarding a proposed .001% sales tax on pet product purchases to pool funding at a State level for a humane breeder program (similar to restaurant health inspections based on breeder licensed size) and mandatory S/N/V/C or heavy fees for unaltered/mandatory registration as  breeder.

I was basically told without the support of the AKC they'd get no where. I've tried reaching out. No one wants to talk with me.  The reps said they recommend I raise $1M and "live" off the interest.  They offered to help with seed money and said to just ask, there's lots of $ out there.  My problem now is "what's my ask?"  How much will it take to offer no cost S/N/V/C. Obviously dedicated facilities, surgical teams, pre-post op techs, transportation, advertising, educational outreach, etc. 

My goal is pets with people, educational outreach and slowing the flow of the abused, abandoned and discarded.  I whole heartedly would love to see some methodology that is palatable to the A K C, taxpayers and stops the backyard/curbside quick cash breeders.

Please update if you make any headway. 

If people/counties/governments would focus more on the root of the problem which is why the animals are there in the first place,  we would make much better strides/advances and make the world a better place for animals.  In almost 20 years of doing cat rescue I would say 90-95% of our cats (and we rescue 650-700 annually and TNR a few hundred more) are born of ferals and friendly strays that well intentioned people start feeding but fail to spay/neuter.  They "can't afford" to spay 1 so they end up feeding 6, then 11, then 16 and THEN they start calling around for help because they do not of any resources.  Sometimes there are resources available but not accessible/affordable to those with more than just a couple and not convenient and appointments can be weeks or months out depending on the time of the year. Our counties should begin to charge everyone homeowner $5 or $10 on their annual tax bill and that money should go strictly toward free and easily accessible spay/neuter for their county-there should be multiple clinics with varying schedules to accommodate those who work and may have to travel a distance to get to the clinics.  Right now most places are like the little boy with his finger in the dike- putting a band aid on the problem/disease instead of fixing/curing the root cause--the animals keep coming only to suffer. Lets get to the root of the problem and keep MANY more out of shelters to begin with.  Everyone who walks in a shelter is not a qualified adopter nor a forever home unfortunately. We're adopting out animals not selling cars (not trying to be disrespectful at all and I apologize if it comes off that way) Just can't think of a nicer way to say it at this moment. 

Why are shelters so full? Is it because there aren't enough people who want to adopt anymore or is it because we aren't expert converters of foot traffic to adoption? Yesterday in a meeting with HASS Pilot Shelter Directors we discussed  the Competitive Pet Placement Project (CPP) results from a super exciting pilot project supported by PetSmart Charities and led by the Human Animal Support Services Project.

CPP is about assessing our ability to compete with the on-demand breeder market that is taking our homes. The data collected from 5 shelters across the US shows us that more than enough people are coming in but people are leaving without a pet due to barriers like long wait times. These aren't new problems and I think we mostly chalk them up to barriers we can't fix but we found that we actually can! 

Two questions for you: 1. Do you know your conversion rate of people walking in to those taking a pet home, same day? 2. If it is higher than 20%, what are you doing to get those pets home?

What if you left the "breeder" portion out for now  and just focused on the low/no cost spay neuter? Wouldn't it still be a huge win to get that accomplished?

I just had a meeting with my State/County/city reps regarding a proposed .001% sales tax on pet product purchases to pool funding at a State level for a humane breeder program (similar to restaurant health inspections based on breeder licensed size) and mandatory S/N/V/C or heavy fees for unaltered/mandatory registration as  breeder.

I was basically told without the support of the AKC they'd get no where. I've tried reaching out. No one wants to talk with me.  The reps said they recommend I raise $1M and "live" off the interest.  They offered to help with seed money and said to just ask, there's lots of $ out there.  My problem now is "what's my ask?"  How much will it take to offer no cost S/N/V/C. Obviously dedicated facilities, surgical teams, pre-post op techs, transportation, advertising, educational outreach, etc. 

My goal is pets with people, educational outreach and slowing the flow of the abused, abandoned and discarded.  I whole heartedly would love to see some methodology that is palatable to the A K C, taxpayers and stops the backyard/curbside quick cash breeders.

Please update if you make any headway. 

If people/counties/governments would focus more on the root of the problem which is why the animals are there in the first place,  we would make much better strides/advances and make the world a better place for animals.  In almost 20 years of doing cat rescue I would say 90-95% of our cats (and we rescue 650-700 annually and TNR a few hundred more) are born of ferals and friendly strays that well intentioned people start feeding but fail to spay/neuter.  They "can't afford" to spay 1 so they end up feeding 6, then 11, then 16 and THEN they start calling around for help because they do not of any resources.  Sometimes there are resources available but not accessible/affordable to those with more than just a couple and not convenient and appointments can be weeks or months out depending on the time of the year. Our counties should begin to charge everyone homeowner $5 or $10 on their annual tax bill and that money should go strictly toward free and easily accessible spay/neuter for their county-there should be multiple clinics with varying schedules to accommodate those who work and may have to travel a distance to get to the clinics.  Right now most places are like the little boy with his finger in the dike- putting a band aid on the problem/disease instead of fixing/curing the root cause--the animals keep coming only to suffer. Lets get to the root of the problem and keep MANY more out of shelters to begin with.  Everyone who walks in a shelter is not a qualified adopter nor a forever home unfortunately. We're adopting out animals not selling cars (not trying to be disrespectful at all and I apologize if it comes off that way) Just can't think of a nicer way to say it at this moment. 

Why are shelters so full? Is it because there aren't enough people who want to adopt anymore or is it because we aren't expert converters of foot traffic to adoption? Yesterday in a meeting with HASS Pilot Shelter Directors we discussed  the Competitive Pet Placement Project (CPP) results from a super exciting pilot project supported by PetSmart Charities and led by the Human Animal Support Services Project.

CPP is about assessing our ability to compete with the on-demand breeder market that is taking our homes. The data collected from 5 shelters across the US shows us that more than enough people are coming in but people are leaving without a pet due to barriers like long wait times. These aren't new problems and I think we mostly chalk them up to barriers we can't fix but we found that we actually can! 

Two questions for you: 1. Do you know your conversion rate of people walking in to those taking a pet home, same day? 2. If it is higher than 20%, what are you doing to get those pets home?

If people/counties/governments would focus more on the root of the problem which is why the animals are there in the first place,  we would make much better strides/advances and make the world a better place for animals.  In almost 20 years of doing cat rescue I would say 90-95% of our cats (and we rescue 650-700 annually and TNR a few hundred more) are born of ferals and friendly strays that well intentioned people start feeding but fail to spay/neuter.  They "can't afford" to spay 1 so they end up feeding 6, then 11, then 16 and THEN they start calling around for help because they do not of any resources.  Sometimes there are resources available but not accessible/affordable to those with more than just a couple and not convenient and appointments can be weeks or months out depending on the time of the year. Our counties should begin to charge everyone homeowner $5 or $10 on their annual tax bill and that money should go strictly toward free and easily accessible spay/neuter for their county-there should be multiple clinics with varying schedules to accommodate those who work and may have to travel a distance to get to the clinics.  Right now most places are like the little boy with his finger in the dike- putting a band aid on the problem/disease instead of fixing/curing the root cause--the animals keep coming only to suffer. Lets get to the root of the problem and keep MANY more out of shelters to begin with.  Everyone who walks in a shelter is not a qualified adopter nor a forever home unfortunately. We're adopting out animals not selling cars (not trying to be disrespectful at all and I apologize if it comes off that way) Just can't think of a nicer way to say it at this moment. 

Why are shelters so full? Is it because there aren't enough people who want to adopt anymore or is it because we aren't expert converters of foot traffic to adoption? Yesterday in a meeting with HASS Pilot Shelter Directors we discussed  the Competitive Pet Placement Project (CPP) results from a super exciting pilot project supported by PetSmart Charities and led by the Human Animal Support Services Project.

CPP is about assessing our ability to compete with the on-demand breeder market that is taking our homes. The data collected from 5 shelters across the US shows us that more than enough people are coming in but people are leaving without a pet due to barriers like long wait times. These aren't new problems and I think we mostly chalk them up to barriers we can't fix but we found that we actually can! 

Two questions for you: 1. Do you know your conversion rate of people walking in to those taking a pet home, same day? 2. If it is higher than 20%, what are you doing to get those pets home?

Hi Marcie,  I don't mean to highjack the conversation about adoption (because I have LOTS of thoughts on this) but I do agree what you are talking about IS the ROOT of the problem. I am a board member and Volunteer at Williston Animal Group. We are a very small non-profit, managed intake, all volunteer rescue in Williston Florida, which is in Levy county. Levy county and the surrounding counties in north central florida have NO animal welfare laws in the county ordinances and as far a animal welfare, basically in the dark ages. We just won a grant and are planning to use it for S/N program. We have a dog food giveaway program to help folks struggling to feed their dogs and thru that program (we deliver sometimes) and thru the unbelievably difficult process of accepting multiple littlers of thrown away puppies, pregnant mothers,  and mothers with new litters, we realized most of the dumped and unwanted litters are coming from households, that even if a free program was offered to them, they would not make the effort to take the dogs. We have decided we are going to focus on these types of dog owners and GO TO THEM.  Convince them to sign off on allowing us to take the dog, S/N/V/C and bring back. Are the dogs going back to a crappy home? Yes.  Are the dogs going to die of heartworm disease, parasites, hit by car? Yes. Are they going to continue to breed and in-breed? NO. We have the grant money and are just in the final planning stages of the program. Figuring how to track results and such will be a bit tricky..I have looked and looked for a similarly focused S/N program and cannot find one. All seem to rely on the owners actually getting the dogs to the clinic, which for this type of mindset (and horrible character) doesn't work. We understand that we will have to "look beyond" the humans, control our ire and keep focus of the big picture. There will be dogs that actually need to be euthanized, for health and/or behavioral issues. There will be dogs that we won't be able to bear taking back. There will be litters of puppies living in horrible conditions. We will put on our big-girl pants and deal with it. Hopefully, this will get some actual relief to the tidal wave and incessant flow of unwanted puppies. 

If people/counties/governments would focus more on the root of the problem which is why the animals are there in the first place,  we would make much better strides/advances and make the world a better place for animals.  In almost 20 years of doing cat rescue I would say 90-95% of our cats (and we rescue 650-700 annually and TNR a few hundred more) are born of ferals and friendly strays that well intentioned people start feeding but fail to spay/neuter.  They "can't afford" to spay 1 so they end up feeding 6, then 11, then 16 and THEN they start calling around for help because they do not of any resources.  Sometimes there are resources available but not accessible/affordable to those with more than just a couple and not convenient and appointments can be weeks or months out depending on the time of the year. Our counties should begin to charge everyone homeowner $5 or $10 on their annual tax bill and that money should go strictly toward free and easily accessible spay/neuter for their county-there should be multiple clinics with varying schedules to accommodate those who work and may have to travel a distance to get to the clinics.  Right now most places are like the little boy with his finger in the dike- putting a band aid on the problem/disease instead of fixing/curing the root cause--the animals keep coming only to suffer. Lets get to the root of the problem and keep MANY more out of shelters to begin with.  Everyone who walks in a shelter is not a qualified adopter nor a forever home unfortunately. We're adopting out animals not selling cars (not trying to be disrespectful at all and I apologize if it comes off that way) Just can't think of a nicer way to say it at this moment. 

Why are shelters so full? Is it because there aren't enough people who want to adopt anymore or is it because we aren't expert converters of foot traffic to adoption? Yesterday in a meeting with HASS Pilot Shelter Directors we discussed  the Competitive Pet Placement Project (CPP) results from a super exciting pilot project supported by PetSmart Charities and led by the Human Animal Support Services Project.

CPP is about assessing our ability to compete with the on-demand breeder market that is taking our homes. The data collected from 5 shelters across the US shows us that more than enough people are coming in but people are leaving without a pet due to barriers like long wait times. These aren't new problems and I think we mostly chalk them up to barriers we can't fix but we found that we actually can! 

Two questions for you: 1. Do you know your conversion rate of people walking in to those taking a pet home, same day? 2. If it is higher than 20%, what are you doing to get those pets home?

Congratulations on your grant. God bless you all and thank you for being so strong!

Hi Marcie,  I don't mean to highjack the conversation about adoption (because I have LOTS of thoughts on this) but I do agree what you are talking about IS the ROOT of the problem. I am a board member and Volunteer at Williston Animal Group. We are a very small non-profit, managed intake, all volunteer rescue in Williston Florida, which is in Levy county. Levy county and the surrounding counties in north central florida have NO animal welfare laws in the county ordinances and as far a animal welfare, basically in the dark ages. We just won a grant and are planning to use it for S/N program. We have a dog food giveaway program to help folks struggling to feed their dogs and thru that program (we deliver sometimes) and thru the unbelievably difficult process of accepting multiple littlers of thrown away puppies, pregnant mothers,  and mothers with new litters, we realized most of the dumped and unwanted litters are coming from households, that even if a free program was offered to them, they would not make the effort to take the dogs. We have decided we are going to focus on these types of dog owners and GO TO THEM.  Convince them to sign off on allowing us to take the dog, S/N/V/C and bring back. Are the dogs going back to a crappy home? Yes.  Are the dogs going to die of heartworm disease, parasites, hit by car? Yes. Are they going to continue to breed and in-breed? NO. We have the grant money and are just in the final planning stages of the program. Figuring how to track results and such will be a bit tricky..I have looked and looked for a similarly focused S/N program and cannot find one. All seem to rely on the owners actually getting the dogs to the clinic, which for this type of mindset (and horrible character) doesn't work. We understand that we will have to "look beyond" the humans, control our ire and keep focus of the big picture. There will be dogs that actually need to be euthanized, for health and/or behavioral issues. There will be dogs that we won't be able to bear taking back. There will be litters of puppies living in horrible conditions. We will put on our big-girl pants and deal with it. Hopefully, this will get some actual relief to the tidal wave and incessant flow of unwanted puppies. 

If people/counties/governments would focus more on the root of the problem which is why the animals are there in the first place,  we would make much better strides/advances and make the world a better place for animals.  In almost 20 years of doing cat rescue I would say 90-95% of our cats (and we rescue 650-700 annually and TNR a few hundred more) are born of ferals and friendly strays that well intentioned people start feeding but fail to spay/neuter.  They "can't afford" to spay 1 so they end up feeding 6, then 11, then 16 and THEN they start calling around for help because they do not of any resources.  Sometimes there are resources available but not accessible/affordable to those with more than just a couple and not convenient and appointments can be weeks or months out depending on the time of the year. Our counties should begin to charge everyone homeowner $5 or $10 on their annual tax bill and that money should go strictly toward free and easily accessible spay/neuter for their county-there should be multiple clinics with varying schedules to accommodate those who work and may have to travel a distance to get to the clinics.  Right now most places are like the little boy with his finger in the dike- putting a band aid on the problem/disease instead of fixing/curing the root cause--the animals keep coming only to suffer. Lets get to the root of the problem and keep MANY more out of shelters to begin with.  Everyone who walks in a shelter is not a qualified adopter nor a forever home unfortunately. We're adopting out animals not selling cars (not trying to be disrespectful at all and I apologize if it comes off that way) Just can't think of a nicer way to say it at this moment. 

Why are shelters so full? Is it because there aren't enough people who want to adopt anymore or is it because we aren't expert converters of foot traffic to adoption? Yesterday in a meeting with HASS Pilot Shelter Directors we discussed  the Competitive Pet Placement Project (CPP) results from a super exciting pilot project supported by PetSmart Charities and led by the Human Animal Support Services Project.

CPP is about assessing our ability to compete with the on-demand breeder market that is taking our homes. The data collected from 5 shelters across the US shows us that more than enough people are coming in but people are leaving without a pet due to barriers like long wait times. These aren't new problems and I think we mostly chalk them up to barriers we can't fix but we found that we actually can! 

Two questions for you: 1. Do you know your conversion rate of people walking in to those taking a pet home, same day? 2. If it is higher than 20%, what are you doing to get those pets home?

Hi Marcie,  I don't mean to highjack the conversation about adoption (because I have LOTS of thoughts on this) but I do agree what you are talking about IS the ROOT of the problem. I am a board member and Volunteer at Williston Animal Group. We are a very small non-profit, managed intake, all volunteer rescue in Williston Florida, which is in Levy county. Levy county and the surrounding counties in north central florida have NO animal welfare laws in the county ordinances and as far a animal welfare, basically in the dark ages. We just won a grant and are planning to use it for S/N program. We have a dog food giveaway program to help folks struggling to feed their dogs and thru that program (we deliver sometimes) and thru the unbelievably difficult process of accepting multiple littlers of thrown away puppies, pregnant mothers,  and mothers with new litters, we realized most of the dumped and unwanted litters are coming from households, that even if a free program was offered to them, they would not make the effort to take the dogs. We have decided we are going to focus on these types of dog owners and GO TO THEM.  Convince them to sign off on allowing us to take the dog, S/N/V/C and bring back. Are the dogs going back to a crappy home? Yes.  Are the dogs going to die of heartworm disease, parasites, hit by car? Yes. Are they going to continue to breed and in-breed? NO. We have the grant money and are just in the final planning stages of the program. Figuring how to track results and such will be a bit tricky..I have looked and looked for a similarly focused S/N program and cannot find one. All seem to rely on the owners actually getting the dogs to the clinic, which for this type of mindset (and horrible character) doesn't work. We understand that we will have to "look beyond" the humans, control our ire and keep focus of the big picture. There will be dogs that actually need to be euthanized, for health and/or behavioral issues. There will be dogs that we won't be able to bear taking back. There will be litters of puppies living in horrible conditions. We will put on our big-girl pants and deal with it. Hopefully, this will get some actual relief to the tidal wave and incessant flow of unwanted puppies. 

If people/counties/governments would focus more on the root of the problem which is why the animals are there in the first place,  we would make much better strides/advances and make the world a better place for animals.  In almost 20 years of doing cat rescue I would say 90-95% of our cats (and we rescue 650-700 annually and TNR a few hundred more) are born of ferals and friendly strays that well intentioned people start feeding but fail to spay/neuter.  They "can't afford" to spay 1 so they end up feeding 6, then 11, then 16 and THEN they start calling around for help because they do not of any resources.  Sometimes there are resources available but not accessible/affordable to those with more than just a couple and not convenient and appointments can be weeks or months out depending on the time of the year. Our counties should begin to charge everyone homeowner $5 or $10 on their annual tax bill and that money should go strictly toward free and easily accessible spay/neuter for their county-there should be multiple clinics with varying schedules to accommodate those who work and may have to travel a distance to get to the clinics.  Right now most places are like the little boy with his finger in the dike- putting a band aid on the problem/disease instead of fixing/curing the root cause--the animals keep coming only to suffer. Lets get to the root of the problem and keep MANY more out of shelters to begin with.  Everyone who walks in a shelter is not a qualified adopter nor a forever home unfortunately. We're adopting out animals not selling cars (not trying to be disrespectful at all and I apologize if it comes off that way) Just can't think of a nicer way to say it at this moment. 

Why are shelters so full? Is it because there aren't enough people who want to adopt anymore or is it because we aren't expert converters of foot traffic to adoption? Yesterday in a meeting with HASS Pilot Shelter Directors we discussed  the Competitive Pet Placement Project (CPP) results from a super exciting pilot project supported by PetSmart Charities and led by the Human Animal Support Services Project.

CPP is about assessing our ability to compete with the on-demand breeder market that is taking our homes. The data collected from 5 shelters across the US shows us that more than enough people are coming in but people are leaving without a pet due to barriers like long wait times. These aren't new problems and I think we mostly chalk them up to barriers we can't fix but we found that we actually can! 

Two questions for you: 1. Do you know your conversion rate of people walking in to those taking a pet home, same day? 2. If it is higher than 20%, what are you doing to get those pets home?

Hi Cheri! I wanted to tell you about Friends of Indianapolis Dogs Outside (FIDO) https://fidoindy.org/ 
This amazing organization has some similar programs and may be able to advise in regards to tracking. 
Kudos to you on your grant and thank you for all you do to help animals!

Hi Marcie,  I don't mean to highjack the conversation about adoption (because I have LOTS of thoughts on this) but I do agree what you are talking about IS the ROOT of the problem. I am a board member and Volunteer at Williston Animal Group. We are a very small non-profit, managed intake, all volunteer rescue in Williston Florida, which is in Levy county. Levy county and the surrounding counties in north central florida have NO animal welfare laws in the county ordinances and as far a animal welfare, basically in the dark ages. We just won a grant and are planning to use it for S/N program. We have a dog food giveaway program to help folks struggling to feed their dogs and thru that program (we deliver sometimes) and thru the unbelievably difficult process of accepting multiple littlers of thrown away puppies, pregnant mothers,  and mothers with new litters, we realized most of the dumped and unwanted litters are coming from households, that even if a free program was offered to them, they would not make the effort to take the dogs. We have decided we are going to focus on these types of dog owners and GO TO THEM.  Convince them to sign off on allowing us to take the dog, S/N/V/C and bring back. Are the dogs going back to a crappy home? Yes.  Are the dogs going to die of heartworm disease, parasites, hit by car? Yes. Are they going to continue to breed and in-breed? NO. We have the grant money and are just in the final planning stages of the program. Figuring how to track results and such will be a bit tricky..I have looked and looked for a similarly focused S/N program and cannot find one. All seem to rely on the owners actually getting the dogs to the clinic, which for this type of mindset (and horrible character) doesn't work. We understand that we will have to "look beyond" the humans, control our ire and keep focus of the big picture. There will be dogs that actually need to be euthanized, for health and/or behavioral issues. There will be dogs that we won't be able to bear taking back. There will be litters of puppies living in horrible conditions. We will put on our big-girl pants and deal with it. Hopefully, this will get some actual relief to the tidal wave and incessant flow of unwanted puppies. 

If people/counties/governments would focus more on the root of the problem which is why the animals are there in the first place,  we would make much better strides/advances and make the world a better place for animals.  In almost 20 years of doing cat rescue I would say 90-95% of our cats (and we rescue 650-700 annually and TNR a few hundred more) are born of ferals and friendly strays that well intentioned people start feeding but fail to spay/neuter.  They "can't afford" to spay 1 so they end up feeding 6, then 11, then 16 and THEN they start calling around for help because they do not of any resources.  Sometimes there are resources available but not accessible/affordable to those with more than just a couple and not convenient and appointments can be weeks or months out depending on the time of the year. Our counties should begin to charge everyone homeowner $5 or $10 on their annual tax bill and that money should go strictly toward free and easily accessible spay/neuter for their county-there should be multiple clinics with varying schedules to accommodate those who work and may have to travel a distance to get to the clinics.  Right now most places are like the little boy with his finger in the dike- putting a band aid on the problem/disease instead of fixing/curing the root cause--the animals keep coming only to suffer. Lets get to the root of the problem and keep MANY more out of shelters to begin with.  Everyone who walks in a shelter is not a qualified adopter nor a forever home unfortunately. We're adopting out animals not selling cars (not trying to be disrespectful at all and I apologize if it comes off that way) Just can't think of a nicer way to say it at this moment. 

Why are shelters so full? Is it because there aren't enough people who want to adopt anymore or is it because we aren't expert converters of foot traffic to adoption? Yesterday in a meeting with HASS Pilot Shelter Directors we discussed  the Competitive Pet Placement Project (CPP) results from a super exciting pilot project supported by PetSmart Charities and led by the Human Animal Support Services Project.

CPP is about assessing our ability to compete with the on-demand breeder market that is taking our homes. The data collected from 5 shelters across the US shows us that more than enough people are coming in but people are leaving without a pet due to barriers like long wait times. These aren't new problems and I think we mostly chalk them up to barriers we can't fix but we found that we actually can! 

Two questions for you: 1. Do you know your conversion rate of people walking in to those taking a pet home, same day? 2. If it is higher than 20%, what are you doing to get those pets home?

If people/counties/governments would focus more on the root of the problem which is why the animals are there in the first place,  we would make much better strides/advances and make the world a better place for animals.  In almost 20 years of doing cat rescue I would say 90-95% of our cats (and we rescue 650-700 annually and TNR a few hundred more) are born of ferals and friendly strays that well intentioned people start feeding but fail to spay/neuter.  They "can't afford" to spay 1 so they end up feeding 6, then 11, then 16 and THEN they start calling around for help because they do not of any resources.  Sometimes there are resources available but not accessible/affordable to those with more than just a couple and not convenient and appointments can be weeks or months out depending on the time of the year. Our counties should begin to charge everyone homeowner $5 or $10 on their annual tax bill and that money should go strictly toward free and easily accessible spay/neuter for their county-there should be multiple clinics with varying schedules to accommodate those who work and may have to travel a distance to get to the clinics.  Right now most places are like the little boy with his finger in the dike- putting a band aid on the problem/disease instead of fixing/curing the root cause--the animals keep coming only to suffer. Lets get to the root of the problem and keep MANY more out of shelters to begin with.  Everyone who walks in a shelter is not a qualified adopter nor a forever home unfortunately. We're adopting out animals not selling cars (not trying to be disrespectful at all and I apologize if it comes off that way) Just can't think of a nicer way to say it at this moment. 

Why are shelters so full? Is it because there aren't enough people who want to adopt anymore or is it because we aren't expert converters of foot traffic to adoption? Yesterday in a meeting with HASS Pilot Shelter Directors we discussed  the Competitive Pet Placement Project (CPP) results from a super exciting pilot project supported by PetSmart Charities and led by the Human Animal Support Services Project.

CPP is about assessing our ability to compete with the on-demand breeder market that is taking our homes. The data collected from 5 shelters across the US shows us that more than enough people are coming in but people are leaving without a pet due to barriers like long wait times. These aren't new problems and I think we mostly chalk them up to barriers we can't fix but we found that we actually can! 

Two questions for you: 1. Do you know your conversion rate of people walking in to those taking a pet home, same day? 2. If it is higher than 20%, what are you doing to get those pets home?

Why are shelters so full? Is it because there aren't enough people who want to adopt anymore or is it because we aren't expert converters of foot traffic to adoption? Yesterday in a meeting with HASS Pilot Shelter Directors we discussed  the Competitive Pet Placement Project (CPP) results from a super exciting pilot project supported by PetSmart Charities and led by the Human Animal Support Services Project.

CPP is about assessing our ability to compete with the on-demand breeder market that is taking our homes. The data collected from 5 shelters across the US shows us that more than enough people are coming in but people are leaving without a pet due to barriers like long wait times. These aren't new problems and I think we mostly chalk them up to barriers we can't fix but we found that we actually can! 

Two questions for you: 1. Do you know your conversion rate of people walking in to those taking a pet home, same day? 2. If it is higher than 20%, what are you doing to get those pets home?

Why are shelters so full? Is it because there aren't enough people who want to adopt anymore or is it because we aren't expert converters of foot traffic to adoption? Yesterday in a meeting with HASS Pilot Shelter Directors we discussed  the Competitive Pet Placement Project (CPP) results from a super exciting pilot project supported by PetSmart Charities and led by the Human Animal Support Services Project.

CPP is about assessing our ability to compete with the on-demand breeder market that is taking our homes. The data collected from 5 shelters across the US shows us that more than enough people are coming in but people are leaving without a pet due to barriers like long wait times. These aren't new problems and I think we mostly chalk them up to barriers we can't fix but we found that we actually can! 

Two questions for you: 1. Do you know your conversion rate of people walking in to those taking a pet home, same day? 2. If it is higher than 20%, what are you doing to get those pets home?

#AdmissionsandIntake(includingIntake-to-placement)
#AdoptionsandAdoptionPrograms
#CommunityPartnerships*
#DataandTechnology
#EducationandTraining

------------------------------
Nichole Hazard
Director of Marketing & Communications
HASS
TX
------------------------------

Why are shelters so full? Is it because there aren't enough people who want to adopt anymore or is it because we aren't expert converters of foot traffic to adoption? Yesterday in a meeting with HASS Pilot Shelter Directors we discussed  the Competitive Pet Placement Project (CPP) results from a super exciting pilot project supported by PetSmart Charities and led by the Human Animal Support Services Project.

CPP is about assessing our ability to compete with the on-demand breeder market that is taking our homes. The data collected from 5 shelters across the US shows us that more than enough people are coming in but people are leaving without a pet due to barriers like long wait times. These aren't new problems and I think we mostly chalk them up to barriers we can't fix but we found that we actually can! 

Two questions for you: 1. Do you know your conversion rate of people walking in to those taking a pet home, same day? 2. If it is higher than 20%, what are you doing to get those pets home?

I think one issue is the lack of training in regard to people leaving empty handed. I'm writing this from the other side--as someone who looked for a dog for 6 months (with my husband) and often left emptied handed.  (I'm now active in helping homeless pets--because of having a dog--but I wasn't then.) We often felt that the staff and volunteers might be great with cats and dogs..., but weren't so good with people. Background: We were anxious about adding to our family--I hadn't had a dog in over 25 years and my husband never had one. We were scared, worried it wouldn't work out. That would have been heartbreaking. The volunteers and others were often impatient with us (and we went at uncrowded times). I think it would have gone a long way to have been asked about our concerns and fears. Maybe even acknowledge that to be so anxious meant we understood the seriousness of what we were hoping to undertake. In 2017 we found our guy and couldn't be happier.  I am an educator, writer and counselor (with a research background)--I don't fully know your world--but training of and empathy by the staff would have gone a long way. There are repercussions: You  may be missing some potentially  good owners and/or fosters. Most shelters and companion animal-related non-profits need money and help.  We donate to shelters (including, but not limited to, where we got our dog) and other dog-related nonprofits. There is one shelter that we will not work with or contribute to (I wrote to them after but they didn't follow-up).

Why are shelters so full? Is it because there aren't enough people who want to adopt anymore or is it because we aren't expert converters of foot traffic to adoption? Yesterday in a meeting with HASS Pilot Shelter Directors we discussed  the Competitive Pet Placement Project (CPP) results from a super exciting pilot project supported by PetSmart Charities and led by the Human Animal Support Services Project.

CPP is about assessing our ability to compete with the on-demand breeder market that is taking our homes. The data collected from 5 shelters across the US shows us that more than enough people are coming in but people are leaving without a pet due to barriers like long wait times. These aren't new problems and I think we mostly chalk them up to barriers we can't fix but we found that we actually can! 

Two questions for you: 1. Do you know your conversion rate of people walking in to those taking a pet home, same day? 2. If it is higher than 20%, what are you doing to get those pets home?

Thanks so much for sharing this Phyllis. I've seen this SO often while working in shelters. Just last weekend an elderly woman came into the shelter I volunteer at and asked to adopt a dog, and was told to "watch the website".  Needless to say, she left empty handed. I really believe this is one of the biggest challenges to adoptions.

I think one issue is the lack of training in regard to people leaving empty handed. I'm writing this from the other side--as someone who looked for a dog for 6 months (with my husband) and often left emptied handed.  (I'm now active in helping homeless pets--because of having a dog--but I wasn't then.) We often felt that the staff and volunteers might be great with cats and dogs..., but weren't so good with people. Background: We were anxious about adding to our family--I hadn't had a dog in over 25 years and my husband never had one. We were scared, worried it wouldn't work out. That would have been heartbreaking. The volunteers and others were often impatient with us (and we went at uncrowded times). I think it would have gone a long way to have been asked about our concerns and fears. Maybe even acknowledge that to be so anxious meant we understood the seriousness of what we were hoping to undertake. In 2017 we found our guy and couldn't be happier.  I am an educator, writer and counselor (with a research background)--I don't fully know your world--but training of and empathy by the staff would have gone a long way. There are repercussions: You  may be missing some potentially  good owners and/or fosters. Most shelters and companion animal-related non-profits need money and help.  We donate to shelters (including, but not limited to, where we got our dog) and other dog-related nonprofits. There is one shelter that we will not work with or contribute to (I wrote to them after but they didn't follow-up).

Why are shelters so full? Is it because there aren't enough people who want to adopt anymore or is it because we aren't expert converters of foot traffic to adoption? Yesterday in a meeting with HASS Pilot Shelter Directors we discussed  the Competitive Pet Placement Project (CPP) results from a super exciting pilot project supported by PetSmart Charities and led by the Human Animal Support Services Project.

CPP is about assessing our ability to compete with the on-demand breeder market that is taking our homes. The data collected from 5 shelters across the US shows us that more than enough people are coming in but people are leaving without a pet due to barriers like long wait times. These aren't new problems and I think we mostly chalk them up to barriers we can't fix but we found that we actually can! 

Two questions for you: 1. Do you know your conversion rate of people walking in to those taking a pet home, same day? 2. If it is higher than 20%, what are you doing to get those pets home?

I have also seen this happen when we were volunteering in a shelter.  We offered to help this person but was told no. As a dog trainer, it is most important to listen to owners or potential owners.  We also opened a rescue a little over a year ago. The rescue offers training to foster's and adopters for the rescue dog or cat they have adopted from us.  In the beginning, we required a yard with a 6 foot fence.  We no longer require the yard with a fence but, we educate the adopters on humane training and how important it is to keep their dog or cat from roaming.  All of our rescue animals are fully vetted, s/n, microchipped, and the dogs are house and crate trained with basic obedience.   I will be honest though. I approved an adopter for a dog but not the one the person applied for. The 70 lbs, highly energetic, and very active dog would not have done well in a small apartment. If I am wrong for doing that, please let me know, as the dog is with us in our home.  We had other smaller breed dogs that would have been more suitable for an apartment.  Some dogs, especially the larger breeds require a larger living area.  We are open to people adopting dogs as outside dogs, even the small breeds.  Does it break our hearts to know a dog will be living outside in the southern heat? Yes, it does but, they have a home and a family. We also keep in touch with all adopters and fosters. Per our contracts, if you are no longer able to care for the rescue dog or cat, we will help the adopter or take the animal back.  

So, yes. We agree that people in rescue need training to be more empathetic to potential fosters and adopters.

Thanks so much for sharing this Phyllis. I've seen this SO often while working in shelters. Just last weekend an elderly woman came into the shelter I volunteer at and asked to adopt a dog, and was told to "watch the website".  Needless to say, she left empty handed. I really believe this is one of the biggest challenges to adoptions.

I think one issue is the lack of training in regard to people leaving empty handed. I'm writing this from the other side--as someone who looked for a dog for 6 months (with my husband) and often left emptied handed.  (I'm now active in helping homeless pets--because of having a dog--but I wasn't then.) We often felt that the staff and volunteers might be great with cats and dogs..., but weren't so good with people. Background: We were anxious about adding to our family--I hadn't had a dog in over 25 years and my husband never had one. We were scared, worried it wouldn't work out. That would have been heartbreaking. The volunteers and others were often impatient with us (and we went at uncrowded times). I think it would have gone a long way to have been asked about our concerns and fears. Maybe even acknowledge that to be so anxious meant we understood the seriousness of what we were hoping to undertake. In 2017 we found our guy and couldn't be happier.  I am an educator, writer and counselor (with a research background)--I don't fully know your world--but training of and empathy by the staff would have gone a long way. There are repercussions: You  may be missing some potentially  good owners and/or fosters. Most shelters and companion animal-related non-profits need money and help.  We donate to shelters (including, but not limited to, where we got our dog) and other dog-related nonprofits. There is one shelter that we will not work with or contribute to (I wrote to them after but they didn't follow-up).

Why are shelters so full? Is it because there aren't enough people who want to adopt anymore or is it because we aren't expert converters of foot traffic to adoption? Yesterday in a meeting with HASS Pilot Shelter Directors we discussed  the Competitive Pet Placement Project (CPP) results from a super exciting pilot project supported by PetSmart Charities and led by the Human Animal Support Services Project.

CPP is about assessing our ability to compete with the on-demand breeder market that is taking our homes. The data collected from 5 shelters across the US shows us that more than enough people are coming in but people are leaving without a pet due to barriers like long wait times. These aren't new problems and I think we mostly chalk them up to barriers we can't fix but we found that we actually can! 

Two questions for you: 1. Do you know your conversion rate of people walking in to those taking a pet home, same day? 2. If it is higher than 20%, what are you doing to get those pets home?

Why are shelters so full? Is it because there aren't enough people who want to adopt anymore or is it because we aren't expert converters of foot traffic to adoption? Yesterday in a meeting with HASS Pilot Shelter Directors we discussed  the Competitive Pet Placement Project (CPP) results from a super exciting pilot project supported by PetSmart Charities and led by the Human Animal Support Services Project.

CPP is about assessing our ability to compete with the on-demand breeder market that is taking our homes. The data collected from 5 shelters across the US shows us that more than enough people are coming in but people are leaving without a pet due to barriers like long wait times. These aren't new problems and I think we mostly chalk them up to barriers we can't fix but we found that we actually can! 

Two questions for you: 1. Do you know your conversion rate of people walking in to those taking a pet home, same day? 2. If it is higher than 20%, what are you doing to get those pets home?

Most people only visit a shelter once in their life, and I think there is stigma around shelters, as well as uneasiness from the general population as our community hasn't always been presented the most positively.  At Brother Wolf, in the month of July we have had 131 adoptions so far and the greatest factor that contributes to that is our policy of open adoptions.  Some people who come into a shelter may be worried they are going to be judged, and a lot of shelters' take a very black and white approach.  At Brother Wolf we are not looking for reasons to say no to someone, but looking for all the reasons we should say yes.  By having open adoptions it becomes more conversational based adoptions, where we can educate potential adopters from what they've given us.  Sometimes people go into a shelter, and are immediately denied when asked, "do you have a yard?" "do you have a home?" "can you afford food?" this can cause an immediate barrier on our end by then closing the adoption if they don't have the "right" answer but may also stop that person from ever going to another shelter again resulting in funding more breeders and puppy farms.   Through conservational counseling, letting go of biases, and the goal of saying yes we have made it possible for a tremendous amount more of animals to go home. I attached our adoption training with examples of open conservation practices and ASPCAs guide to open adoptions.

Why are shelters so full? Is it because there aren't enough people who want to adopt anymore or is it because we aren't expert converters of foot traffic to adoption? Yesterday in a meeting with HASS Pilot Shelter Directors we discussed  the Competitive Pet Placement Project (CPP) results from a super exciting pilot project supported by PetSmart Charities and led by the Human Animal Support Services Project.

CPP is about assessing our ability to compete with the on-demand breeder market that is taking our homes. The data collected from 5 shelters across the US shows us that more than enough people are coming in but people are leaving without a pet due to barriers like long wait times. These aren't new problems and I think we mostly chalk them up to barriers we can't fix but we found that we actually can! 

Two questions for you: 1. Do you know your conversion rate of people walking in to those taking a pet home, same day? 2. If it is higher than 20%, what are you doing to get those pets home?

Thank you for providing the documents.  We also practice open conversational-based adoptions.  Specific to the Adoption Counseling Guide, I did not see any references to people with toddlers/small children wanting to adopt and the potential consequences for the adopted dog.  We've had enough bad experiences with these adoptions that many in our group (including me) are very hesitant to adopt to someone who has a child under the age of 5 or so.  The return rate for these adoptions is higher than others (including return requests due to interactions with grandchildren). Case in point:  about two weeks ago we adopted a puppy to a family and yesterday we were contacted by another shelter advising us that family had set up a surrender appointment because the puppy (approx 3 mos) was being "aggressive" to their 3-year-old child.  It's a puppy! Obviously, these people don't have a clue about how to handle and instead of asking for help, they've decided to get rid of the puppy (and they didn't contact us).  We currently have an application for a young bully and the prospective adopters have a one-year-old child.  We are extremely concerned that if that family doesn't supervise all interactions and teach their child how to interact appropriately with the dog, the dog will end up paying the ultimate price so some of us feel this type of adoption falls into the "safety" category.  We do offer free group training classes to all our adopters, but we cannot force anyone to participate.   We also provide a handout to all new adopters about expectations, setting boundaries, etc.  How do others handle applications/adoptions when small children are involved?

Most people only visit a shelter once in their life, and I think there is stigma around shelters, as well as uneasiness from the general population as our community hasn't always been presented the most positively.  At Brother Wolf, in the month of July we have had 131 adoptions so far and the greatest factor that contributes to that is our policy of open adoptions.  Some people who come into a shelter may be worried they are going to be judged, and a lot of shelters' take a very black and white approach.  At Brother Wolf we are not looking for reasons to say no to someone, but looking for all the reasons we should say yes.  By having open adoptions it becomes more conversational based adoptions, where we can educate potential adopters from what they've given us.  Sometimes people go into a shelter, and are immediately denied when asked, "do you have a yard?" "do you have a home?" "can you afford food?" this can cause an immediate barrier on our end by then closing the adoption if they don't have the "right" answer but may also stop that person from ever going to another shelter again resulting in funding more breeders and puppy farms.   Through conservational counseling, letting go of biases, and the goal of saying yes we have made it possible for a tremendous amount more of animals to go home. I attached our adoption training with examples of open conservation practices and ASPCAs guide to open adoptions.

Why are shelters so full? Is it because there aren't enough people who want to adopt anymore or is it because we aren't expert converters of foot traffic to adoption? Yesterday in a meeting with HASS Pilot Shelter Directors we discussed  the Competitive Pet Placement Project (CPP) results from a super exciting pilot project supported by PetSmart Charities and led by the Human Animal Support Services Project.

CPP is about assessing our ability to compete with the on-demand breeder market that is taking our homes. The data collected from 5 shelters across the US shows us that more than enough people are coming in but people are leaving without a pet due to barriers like long wait times. These aren't new problems and I think we mostly chalk them up to barriers we can't fix but we found that we actually can! 

Two questions for you: 1. Do you know your conversion rate of people walking in to those taking a pet home, same day? 2. If it is higher than 20%, what are you doing to get those pets home?