Animal Welfare Professionals

Hi All,

This is my first time posting on Maddie's Pet Forum. My name is Victoria Hopkins and I am part of a growing rescue in Georgia called Royal Animal Refuge. A little background, we open our doors just over a year ago and have grown way faster than we expected and we are currently looking into a shelter software program but have not decided which one we will go with yet. With that being said, my question is in regards to how others manage owner surrenders, internally. We currently have one person managing them but the number of inquiries and requests for owner surrenders is beyond overwhelming. How do you manage owner surrenders with your rescue? Do you create a team or task force, how do you track the number of people who are waiting for a spot to open up (google doc, etc)? Any guidance or resources geared toward best practices managing owner surrenders internally would be greatly greatly appreciated! Thank you!

I am with FieldHaven Feline Center in California.  We have a triage process for owner surrenders that starts with conversations with the person requesting to surrender.   Our goal right at the start of the conversation is to find a way for that cat to NOT come to the shelter.  At some point during the conversation we will actually state that, sometimes in  a light-hearted way.  If it is determined that surrender is the next course of action then we have them complete detailed form called a Cat Information Survey (CIS).   After receiving that we have a volunteer who "works" the request until a resolution is achieved.  

There is a link to the CIS on this page of our website:  https://fieldhaven.com/intake/ or here is a direct link http://www.fieldhavenfelinecenter.com/RP_Form.asp?LHID=5

We have been using this procedure for several years and it works really well for us.  

Great resources thank you and for your help!!! Do you have a team of people managing the conversations? And or based on how the survey is completed, is it then funneled down to a specific team member to handle?

Yes, we triage it right through to the end, engaging whatever staff or volunteers have expertise in the nature of the situation.  Our veterinarian will get involved as needed too.   all the while trying to come up with a solution to avoid intake.  It's surprising how many people decide to keep their cats or find homes on their own.  They just need hand holding, support and  "think outside the box" ideas. 

When you are looking at software, you might want to look for a system that allows you to accept surrender applications on your website through the system.  It will make you more efficient and funnel everyone through a single point of contact.

Good point and food for thought, thank you!!