Animal Welfare Professionals

I am curious if anyone else has experienced a surge in window shoppers lately?

We just moved our tiny program (1-2 adoptions a week) from AZ to TX and I am finding a huge percentage of applicants change their minds, the day after they apply. I don't *think* it is anything to do with us, or our dogs, but it seems to be a wave of people who are seeking something in their lives and then immediately realize they can't or don't want the responsibility, usually the very next day.

It has been incredibly frustrating for us, as every single step now I have added language "Please do not apply until you are ready to adopt" and have multiple contacts (email, phone, text, Petfinder message, etc) for them to ask questions before we do the hard work of reading each application.

Some of it feels like people just need a place to mourn their last pets, or people want to be "approved" for something. I have a background in therapeutic arts (yoga, movement, and art therapy) and it hit me this week that the behavior of these applicants is much like a trauma recovery response...

Anyhow just curious if we are the only ones going through this! :) Thank you for reading!

Also I wanted to add, we only recently joined Petfinder.

Before that it was RescueMe only, and it seemed we have a very high percentage of serious inquiries...

I am curious if anyone else has experienced a surge in window shoppers lately?

We just moved our tiny program (1-2 adoptions a week) from AZ to TX and I am finding a huge percentage of applicants change their minds, the day after they apply. I don't *think* it is anything to do with us, or our dogs, but it seems to be a wave of people who are seeking something in their lives and then immediately realize they can't or don't want the responsibility, usually the very next day.

It has been incredibly frustrating for us, as every single step now I have added language "Please do not apply until you are ready to adopt" and have multiple contacts (email, phone, text, Petfinder message, etc) for them to ask questions before we do the hard work of reading each application.

Some of it feels like people just need a place to mourn their last pets, or people want to be "approved" for something. I have a background in therapeutic arts (yoga, movement, and art therapy) and it hit me this week that the behavior of these applicants is much like a trauma recovery response...

Anyhow just curious if we are the only ones going through this! :) Thank you for reading!

i find that often it takes the actual filling of the app  and hitting send when reality finally hits most people.  I think many are hoping to get a response that the dog was adopted. But I am actually grateful for the folks that realize they do not want to adopt prior to the adoption then after!!!  But I feel your pain :)

Also I wanted to add, we only recently joined Petfinder.

Before that it was RescueMe only, and it seemed we have a very high percentage of serious inquiries...

I am curious if anyone else has experienced a surge in window shoppers lately?

We just moved our tiny program (1-2 adoptions a week) from AZ to TX and I am finding a huge percentage of applicants change their minds, the day after they apply. I don't *think* it is anything to do with us, or our dogs, but it seems to be a wave of people who are seeking something in their lives and then immediately realize they can't or don't want the responsibility, usually the very next day.

It has been incredibly frustrating for us, as every single step now I have added language "Please do not apply until you are ready to adopt" and have multiple contacts (email, phone, text, Petfinder message, etc) for them to ask questions before we do the hard work of reading each application.

Some of it feels like people just need a place to mourn their last pets, or people want to be "approved" for something. I have a background in therapeutic arts (yoga, movement, and art therapy) and it hit me this week that the behavior of these applicants is much like a trauma recovery response...

Anyhow just curious if we are the only ones going through this! :) Thank you for reading!

I am curious if anyone else has experienced a surge in window shoppers lately?

We just moved our tiny program (1-2 adoptions a week) from AZ to TX and I am finding a huge percentage of applicants change their minds, the day after they apply. I don't *think* it is anything to do with us, or our dogs, but it seems to be a wave of people who are seeking something in their lives and then immediately realize they can't or don't want the responsibility, usually the very next day.

It has been incredibly frustrating for us, as every single step now I have added language "Please do not apply until you are ready to adopt" and have multiple contacts (email, phone, text, Petfinder message, etc) for them to ask questions before we do the hard work of reading each application.

Some of it feels like people just need a place to mourn their last pets, or people want to be "approved" for something. I have a background in therapeutic arts (yoga, movement, and art therapy) and it hit me this week that the behavior of these applicants is much like a trauma recovery response...

Anyhow just curious if we are the only ones going through this! :) Thank you for reading!

Thank you for sharing this Ky! I can understand your frustration.

I think a number a things are at play for your situation that may all be causing some of the same "window shopper" behaviors that you described as the wave. I share my take based on your description, but it may change with some added details. 

I assume that this has been happening over the last 4-8 weeks, which also lines up with major schedule changes for people (ex. kids and teens going back to school, work hours shifting due to demand changes or staff turnover). The adoption decision is a very complex process and folks may feel sure one day then become more conservative in their thought process after they consider more details before they commit to the final decision.

You likely have different behaviors between AZ and TX adopters and  between Petfinder and RescueMe that may effect things too. It would be interesting to see how the window shopper behaviors relate to people applying that recently lost a pet, but it's a little difficult to see a direct connection that the behaviors would be highly linked to their mourning or loss trauma. I agree it may play a part, but I think other things like the time of year or scheduling would play an even bigger part.

From an outsider perspective, there may be a part that the application plays into it as well. First, I want to acknowledge that you have fantastic questions on the application that many shelters and rescues should use to survey potential adopters before they look to make an adoption decision. But, there are a few questions or statements that applicants may reconsider after they have submitted the application.

Items like #15, 16, and 20  may feel be good questions for you to ask as the rescue, but applicants may feel like they are being strictly vetted and decide they don't want to go through further scrutiny after the application is submitted. Now, you may question why they would even respond and submit the application is they feel that way. But, they may feel they already invested their time in the application for the first dozen or so questions and find its worth finishing and submitting (only to reconsider later) than just stopping most of the way through. Similarly, some folks stay and watch a bad movie they paid a ticket for rather than leaving part way through.  

Unfortunately, it then falls on you to go through the applications afterwards. 

I am curious if anyone else has experienced a surge in window shoppers lately?

We just moved our tiny program (1-2 adoptions a week) from AZ to TX and I am finding a huge percentage of applicants change their minds, the day after they apply. I don't *think* it is anything to do with us, or our dogs, but it seems to be a wave of people who are seeking something in their lives and then immediately realize they can't or don't want the responsibility, usually the very next day.

It has been incredibly frustrating for us, as every single step now I have added language "Please do not apply until you are ready to adopt" and have multiple contacts (email, phone, text, Petfinder message, etc) for them to ask questions before we do the hard work of reading each application.

Some of it feels like people just need a place to mourn their last pets, or people want to be "approved" for something. I have a background in therapeutic arts (yoga, movement, and art therapy) and it hit me this week that the behavior of these applicants is much like a trauma recovery response...

Anyhow just curious if we are the only ones going through this! :) Thank you for reading!

Thank you for looking through the application! I appreciate it! But I disagree haha.

We do a bare minimum of vetting, so I don't believe it's our application. I have been on the vetting process of some VERY selective national groups and they even run complete background checks on their adopters! We don't do home checks, or employer checks, which almost all rescues do.

(If anything we want even better homes for our dogs, who all receive weeks/months of training and care, so I was thinking of adding more questions and criteria. 😂)

I think there is a bigger thing happening right now with the economy and people waking up in politics, and this may be the beginning of it in the adoption world. Paying close attention to the real estate market and credit industry, major events look to be just around the corner as well.

There also seems to be a psychological component at play, where people are becoming desperate to "rescue" something. 

It feels exactly like doing therapy work with people...

Those are just my gut feelings!

Thank you for sharing this Ky! I can understand your frustration.

I think a number a things are at play for your situation that may all be causing some of the same "window shopper" behaviors that you described as the wave. I share my take based on your description, but it may change with some added details. 

I assume that this has been happening over the last 4-8 weeks, which also lines up with major schedule changes for people (ex. kids and teens going back to school, work hours shifting due to demand changes or staff turnover). The adoption decision is a very complex process and folks may feel sure one day then become more conservative in their thought process after they consider more details before they commit to the final decision.

You likely have different behaviors between AZ and TX adopters and  between Petfinder and RescueMe that may effect things too. It would be interesting to see how the window shopper behaviors relate to people applying that recently lost a pet, but it's a little difficult to see a direct connection that the behaviors would be highly linked to their mourning or loss trauma. I agree it may play a part, but I think other things like the time of year or scheduling would play an even bigger part.

From an outsider perspective, there may be a part that the application plays into it as well. First, I want to acknowledge that you have fantastic questions on the application that many shelters and rescues should use to survey potential adopters before they look to make an adoption decision. But, there are a few questions or statements that applicants may reconsider after they have submitted the application.

Items like #15, 16, and 20  may feel be good questions for you to ask as the rescue, but applicants may feel like they are being strictly vetted and decide they don't want to go through further scrutiny after the application is submitted. Now, you may question why they would even respond and submit the application is they feel that way. But, they may feel they already invested their time in the application for the first dozen or so questions and find its worth finishing and submitting (only to reconsider later) than just stopping most of the way through. Similarly, some folks stay and watch a bad movie they paid a ticket for rather than leaving part way through.  

Unfortunately, it then falls on you to go through the applications afterwards. 

I am curious if anyone else has experienced a surge in window shoppers lately?

We just moved our tiny program (1-2 adoptions a week) from AZ to TX and I am finding a huge percentage of applicants change their minds, the day after they apply. I don't *think* it is anything to do with us, or our dogs, but it seems to be a wave of people who are seeking something in their lives and then immediately realize they can't or don't want the responsibility, usually the very next day.

It has been incredibly frustrating for us, as every single step now I have added language "Please do not apply until you are ready to adopt" and have multiple contacts (email, phone, text, Petfinder message, etc) for them to ask questions before we do the hard work of reading each application.

Some of it feels like people just need a place to mourn their last pets, or people want to be "approved" for something. I have a background in therapeutic arts (yoga, movement, and art therapy) and it hit me this week that the behavior of these applicants is much like a trauma recovery response...

Anyhow just curious if we are the only ones going through this! :) Thank you for reading!

I am curious if anyone else has experienced a surge in window shoppers lately?

We just moved our tiny program (1-2 adoptions a week) from AZ to TX and I am finding a huge percentage of applicants change their minds, the day after they apply. I don't *think* it is anything to do with us, or our dogs, but it seems to be a wave of people who are seeking something in their lives and then immediately realize they can't or don't want the responsibility, usually the very next day.

It has been incredibly frustrating for us, as every single step now I have added language "Please do not apply until you are ready to adopt" and have multiple contacts (email, phone, text, Petfinder message, etc) for them to ask questions before we do the hard work of reading each application.

Some of it feels like people just need a place to mourn their last pets, or people want to be "approved" for something. I have a background in therapeutic arts (yoga, movement, and art therapy) and it hit me this week that the behavior of these applicants is much like a trauma recovery response...

Anyhow just curious if we are the only ones going through this! :) Thank you for reading!

#AdoptionsandAdoptionPrograms

------------------------------
Ky Xia
Rescue Operations
Tender Hearts of Texas
TX
http://tenderheartsoftexas.org
------------------------------

This message was posted by a user wishing to remain anonymous

I agree that your application is possibly part of the problem. It's long, invasive, and as someone who has filled these out before myself, a little condescending.  It comes across as though you think the applicant is completely clueless about dogs, and that's not the vibe people want when they are thinking about working with you to adopt a new pet. Many rescues do still use this type of application but the industry as a whole is moving away from them because they don't help more dogs find homes. They make it harder for dogs to find homes. We don't want potential adopters to see us as the gatekeepers holding onto dogs until the "perfect" home comes along. We want them to see rescues as partners in caring for our community's dogs.

I could go into detail on many of the questions, but #15 in particular stands out: "How will you care for this dog if you are away on vacation, business, or for any other reason? If you have to move, will you make sure that your dog is able to move with you?"  One, it's incredibly condescending. Of course people will find someone to care for their pet!! Two,  of course most people will take their pet when they move! But there are sometimes unforeseen circumstances where people have to move and can't take their pet with them, so this is a promise people cannot make because no one can predict the future. It's pointless to ask and it shames people who are facing dire circumstances and can't take their pet for reasons outside their control.

Original Message:
Sent: 09-20-2023 04:03 AM
From: Ky Xia
Subject: Window Shoppers

I am curious if anyone else has experienced a surge in window shoppers lately?

We just moved our tiny program (1-2 adoptions a week) from AZ to TX and I am finding a huge percentage of applicants change their minds, the day after they apply. I don't *think* it is anything to do with us, or our dogs, but it seems to be a wave of people who are seeking something in their lives and then immediately realize they can't or don't want the responsibility, usually the very next day.

It has been incredibly frustrating for us, as every single step now I have added language "Please do not apply until you are ready to adopt" and have multiple contacts (email, phone, text, Petfinder message, etc) for them to ask questions before we do the hard work of reading each application.

Some of it feels like people just need a place to mourn their last pets, or people want to be "approved" for something. I have a background in therapeutic arts (yoga, movement, and art therapy) and it hit me this week that the behavior of these applicants is much like a trauma recovery response...

Anyhow just curious if we are the only ones going through this! :) Thank you for reading!

#AdoptionsandAdoptionPrograms

------------------------------
Ky Xia
Rescue Operations
Tender Hearts of Texas
TX
http://tenderheartsoftexas.org
------------------------------

This message was posted by a user wishing to remain anonymous

I agree that your application is possibly part of the problem. It's long, invasive, and as someone who has filled these out before myself, a little condescending.  It comes across as though you think the applicant is completely clueless about dogs, and that's not the vibe people want when they are thinking about working with you to adopt a new pet. Many rescues do still use this type of application but the industry as a whole is moving away from them because they don't help more dogs find homes. They make it harder for dogs to find homes. We don't want potential adopters to see us as the gatekeepers holding onto dogs until the "perfect" home comes along. We want them to see rescues as partners in caring for our community's dogs.

I could go into detail on many of the questions, but #15 in particular stands out: "How will you care for this dog if you are away on vacation, business, or for any other reason? If you have to move, will you make sure that your dog is able to move with you?"  One, it's incredibly condescending. Of course people will find someone to care for their pet!! Two,  of course most people will take their pet when they move! But there are sometimes unforeseen circumstances where people have to move and can't take their pet with them, so this is a promise people cannot make because no one can predict the future. It's pointless to ask and it shames people who are facing dire circumstances and can't take their pet for reasons outside their control.

Original Message:
Sent: 09-20-2023 04:03 AM
From: Ky Xia
Subject: Window Shoppers

I am curious if anyone else has experienced a surge in window shoppers lately?

We just moved our tiny program (1-2 adoptions a week) from AZ to TX and I am finding a huge percentage of applicants change their minds, the day after they apply. I don't *think* it is anything to do with us, or our dogs, but it seems to be a wave of people who are seeking something in their lives and then immediately realize they can't or don't want the responsibility, usually the very next day.

It has been incredibly frustrating for us, as every single step now I have added language "Please do not apply until you are ready to adopt" and have multiple contacts (email, phone, text, Petfinder message, etc) for them to ask questions before we do the hard work of reading each application.

Some of it feels like people just need a place to mourn their last pets, or people want to be "approved" for something. I have a background in therapeutic arts (yoga, movement, and art therapy) and it hit me this week that the behavior of these applicants is much like a trauma recovery response...

Anyhow just curious if we are the only ones going through this! :) Thank you for reading!

#AdoptionsandAdoptionPrograms

------------------------------
Ky Xia
Rescue Operations
Tender Hearts of Texas
TX
http://tenderheartsoftexas.org
------------------------------

I am curious if anyone else has experienced a surge in window shoppers lately?

We just moved our tiny program (1-2 adoptions a week) from AZ to TX and I am finding a huge percentage of applicants change their minds, the day after they apply. I don't *think* it is anything to do with us, or our dogs, but it seems to be a wave of people who are seeking something in their lives and then immediately realize they can't or don't want the responsibility, usually the very next day.

It has been incredibly frustrating for us, as every single step now I have added language "Please do not apply until you are ready to adopt" and have multiple contacts (email, phone, text, Petfinder message, etc) for them to ask questions before we do the hard work of reading each application.

Some of it feels like people just need a place to mourn their last pets, or people want to be "approved" for something. I have a background in therapeutic arts (yoga, movement, and art therapy) and it hit me this week that the behavior of these applicants is much like a trauma recovery response...

Anyhow just curious if we are the only ones going through this! :) Thank you for reading!

Ky, I actually think your application is WORKING WELL:  they get to the end and realize either that they can't afford it or don't have the time  -- so you're "losing" adoptions that would have been the most likely to result in returns in a few months, had they done a spur-of-the-moment, few-questions-asked adoption.  Longer adoption forms actually engage adopters in a thoughtful, reflective process -- almost a conversation with themselves -- to  think about how they plan to problem-solve and organize their time to integrate a new dog into their family.   So if they get to the end and melt away, while it's frustrating to you, you actually got them to slow down and think -- and they may come back in a few months or a year when finances or housing are more stable.

Petfinder definitely gets a lot of lookie-loos.   One dynamic I've seen frequently there is that some people use browsing Petfinder as therapy after a beloved pet passes, in the midst of heartbreak and grief  -- find all the ones that look like the one that passed, and put in an application on any dog that looks very much like the one that passed (imagining they're getting their deceased pet back).  Then they move out of that stage of acute grief and realize it's not going to bring their pet back, and they need time to heal before they adopt their next dog.   When I get those applications, I sometimes ask them if they would be interested in fostering a dog they have no plans to adopt, while they're moving through their grief -- and then maybe after a few dogs, they'll meet "the one" and decide to foster fail.   Fostering can be very healing in those situations. 

I am curious if anyone else has experienced a surge in window shoppers lately?

We just moved our tiny program (1-2 adoptions a week) from AZ to TX and I am finding a huge percentage of applicants change their minds, the day after they apply. I don't *think* it is anything to do with us, or our dogs, but it seems to be a wave of people who are seeking something in their lives and then immediately realize they can't or don't want the responsibility, usually the very next day.

It has been incredibly frustrating for us, as every single step now I have added language "Please do not apply until you are ready to adopt" and have multiple contacts (email, phone, text, Petfinder message, etc) for them to ask questions before we do the hard work of reading each application.

Some of it feels like people just need a place to mourn their last pets, or people want to be "approved" for something. I have a background in therapeutic arts (yoga, movement, and art therapy) and it hit me this week that the behavior of these applicants is much like a trauma recovery response...

Anyhow just curious if we are the only ones going through this! :) Thank you for reading!