Animal Welfare Professionals

Hello, My name is Erin and I am the Foster Coordinator at a humane society.  Currently, in order to foster animals or even adopt an animal from our shelter we require landlord permission or a pet policy if the family does not own their home. We are considering removing this requirement as it is one of the main things preventing adoptions and gaining foster families. No one seems to want to get their landlord's permission.  Our director is curious to find out what other shelters' (that do not have this requirement) return rates are. How many and how often are animals being returned because they weren't actually allowed to have the animal in their rental. Any help on this question would be much appreciated. Or if anyone knows of any links to any studies done on this topic, that would be great as well. Thank you!

We had the same requirement as you do for 12 years.....we just recently removed it about a year ago and I can tell you that our return rates haven't changed. The dogs that do get returned DO NOT get returned because of landlord issues. I dug my heels in hard for this policy to NOT change because I thought the same as you and more dogs would get returned, but that is simply not the case. If people want to keep their dogs, they find a way around it with their landlords...at least that has been our experience.

Hello, My name is Erin and I am the Foster Coordinator at a humane society.  Currently, in order to foster animals or even adopt an animal from our shelter we require landlord permission or a pet policy if the family does not own their home. We are considering removing this requirement as it is one of the main things preventing adoptions and gaining foster families. No one seems to want to get their landlord's permission.  Our director is curious to find out what other shelters' (that do not have this requirement) return rates are. How many and how often are animals being returned because they weren't actually allowed to have the animal in their rental. Any help on this question would be much appreciated. Or if anyone knows of any links to any studies done on this topic, that would be great as well. Thank you!

Thank you for the reply. Our staff is very divided on this issue due to the worry that many animals will be returned or dumped outside. 

We had the same requirement as you do for 12 years.....we just recently removed it about a year ago and I can tell you that our return rates haven't changed. The dogs that do get returned DO NOT get returned because of landlord issues. I dug my heels in hard for this policy to NOT change because I thought the same as you and more dogs would get returned, but that is simply not the case. If people want to keep their dogs, they find a way around it with their landlords...at least that has been our experience.

Hello, My name is Erin and I am the Foster Coordinator at a humane society.  Currently, in order to foster animals or even adopt an animal from our shelter we require landlord permission or a pet policy if the family does not own their home. We are considering removing this requirement as it is one of the main things preventing adoptions and gaining foster families. No one seems to want to get their landlord's permission.  Our director is curious to find out what other shelters' (that do not have this requirement) return rates are. How many and how often are animals being returned because they weren't actually allowed to have the animal in their rental. Any help on this question would be much appreciated. Or if anyone knows of any links to any studies done on this topic, that would be great as well. Thank you!

Hello, My name is Erin and I am the Foster Coordinator at a humane society.  Currently, in order to foster animals or even adopt an animal from our shelter we require landlord permission or a pet policy if the family does not own their home. We are considering removing this requirement as it is one of the main things preventing adoptions and gaining foster families. No one seems to want to get their landlord's permission.  Our director is curious to find out what other shelters' (that do not have this requirement) return rates are. How many and how often are animals being returned because they weren't actually allowed to have the animal in their rental. Any help on this question would be much appreciated. Or if anyone knows of any links to any studies done on this topic, that would be great as well. Thank you!

Hello, My name is Erin and I am the Foster Coordinator at a humane society.  Currently, in order to foster animals or even adopt an animal from our shelter we require landlord permission or a pet policy if the family does not own their home. We are considering removing this requirement as it is one of the main things preventing adoptions and gaining foster families. No one seems to want to get their landlord's permission.  Our director is curious to find out what other shelters' (that do not have this requirement) return rates are. How many and how often are animals being returned because they weren't actually allowed to have the animal in their rental. Any help on this question would be much appreciated. Or if anyone knows of any links to any studies done on this topic, that would be great as well. Thank you!

Hello, My name is Erin and I am the Foster Coordinator at a humane society.  Currently, in order to foster animals or even adopt an animal from our shelter we require landlord permission or a pet policy if the family does not own their home. We are considering removing this requirement as it is one of the main things preventing adoptions and gaining foster families. No one seems to want to get their landlord's permission.  Our director is curious to find out what other shelters' (that do not have this requirement) return rates are. How many and how often are animals being returned because they weren't actually allowed to have the animal in their rental. Any help on this question would be much appreciated. Or if anyone knows of any links to any studies done on this topic, that would be great as well. Thank you!

Hi Erin,

Here are some resources to check out:

• Our 2022 National Foster Survey found some really interesting correlations between length of foster onboarding and the steps needed to become a foster and the size of the organization's program
• You can find links to research on adoption barriers in the HSUS's Adopters Welcome manual

Hello, My name is Erin and I am the Foster Coordinator at a humane society.  Currently, in order to foster animals or even adopt an animal from our shelter we require landlord permission or a pet policy if the family does not own their home. We are considering removing this requirement as it is one of the main things preventing adoptions and gaining foster families. No one seems to want to get their landlord's permission.  Our director is curious to find out what other shelters' (that do not have this requirement) return rates are. How many and how often are animals being returned because they weren't actually allowed to have the animal in their rental. Any help on this question would be much appreciated. Or if anyone knows of any links to any studies done on this topic, that would be great as well. Thank you!

Hello, My name is Erin and I am the Foster Coordinator at a humane society.  Currently, in order to foster animals or even adopt an animal from our shelter we require landlord permission or a pet policy if the family does not own their home. We are considering removing this requirement as it is one of the main things preventing adoptions and gaining foster families. No one seems to want to get their landlord's permission.  Our director is curious to find out what other shelters' (that do not have this requirement) return rates are. How many and how often are animals being returned because they weren't actually allowed to have the animal in their rental. Any help on this question would be much appreciated. Or if anyone knows of any links to any studies done on this topic, that would be great as well. Thank you!

Hello, My name is Erin and I am the Foster Coordinator at a humane society.  Currently, in order to foster animals or even adopt an animal from our shelter we require landlord permission or a pet policy if the family does not own their home. We are considering removing this requirement as it is one of the main things preventing adoptions and gaining foster families. No one seems to want to get their landlord's permission.  Our director is curious to find out what other shelters' (that do not have this requirement) return rates are. How many and how often are animals being returned because they weren't actually allowed to have the animal in their rental. Any help on this question would be much appreciated. Or if anyone knows of any links to any studies done on this topic, that would be great as well. Thank you!

Hi, all

I'm going to play what I will guess will be devil's advocate. As chair of the foster committee , We require landlord permission and have no interest in taking the requirement away.  As a small, all-volunteer cat rescue in New York, we are facing strict requirements about all aspects of animal care, including certifying that our foster homes are physically in compliance with all the regulations.  If I'm certifying that by doing home visits to every foster home (the expectation, as I read the new and upcoming law), I am certainly also going to make sure renters have permission from landlords, on my very long list of i's to dot and t's to cross.  And I know our adoption team requires a landlord check too, with no interest in changing the policy.  We consider it disruptive to our cats to have anything less than our best effort to find their happily ever after. Dog returns may be a nice break from a shelter as one person said, but cats are different.  It takes a bit longer, but the adoption team feels it is an important step.  Is it perfect? Nope.  Do we have returns? And do we lose foster caretakers? Both yup.  But not as many as I hear other groups in our area who don't require this step.  

Hello, My name is Erin and I am the Foster Coordinator at a humane society.  Currently, in order to foster animals or even adopt an animal from our shelter we require landlord permission or a pet policy if the family does not own their home. We are considering removing this requirement as it is one of the main things preventing adoptions and gaining foster families. No one seems to want to get their landlord's permission.  Our director is curious to find out what other shelters' (that do not have this requirement) return rates are. How many and how often are animals being returned because they weren't actually allowed to have the animal in their rental. Any help on this question would be much appreciated. Or if anyone knows of any links to any studies done on this topic, that would be great as well. Thank you!

Hi, all

I'm going to play what I will guess will be devil's advocate. As chair of the foster committee , We require landlord permission and have no interest in taking the requirement away.  As a small, all-volunteer cat rescue in New York, we are facing strict requirements about all aspects of animal care, including certifying that our foster homes are physically in compliance with all the regulations.  If I'm certifying that by doing home visits to every foster home (the expectation, as I read the new and upcoming law), I am certainly also going to make sure renters have permission from landlords, on my very long list of i's to dot and t's to cross.  And I know our adoption team requires a landlord check too, with no interest in changing the policy.  We consider it disruptive to our cats to have anything less than our best effort to find their happily ever after. Dog returns may be a nice break from a shelter as one person said, but cats are different.  It takes a bit longer, but the adoption team feels it is an important step.  Is it perfect? Nope.  Do we have returns? And do we lose foster caretakers? Both yup.  But not as many as I hear other groups in our area who don't require this step.  

Hello, My name is Erin and I am the Foster Coordinator at a humane society.  Currently, in order to foster animals or even adopt an animal from our shelter we require landlord permission or a pet policy if the family does not own their home. We are considering removing this requirement as it is one of the main things preventing adoptions and gaining foster families. No one seems to want to get their landlord's permission.  Our director is curious to find out what other shelters' (that do not have this requirement) return rates are. How many and how often are animals being returned because they weren't actually allowed to have the animal in their rental. Any help on this question would be much appreciated. Or if anyone knows of any links to any studies done on this topic, that would be great as well. Thank you!

Hello, My name is Erin and I am the Foster Coordinator at a humane society.  Currently, in order to foster animals or even adopt an animal from our shelter we require landlord permission or a pet policy if the family does not own their home. We are considering removing this requirement as it is one of the main things preventing adoptions and gaining foster families. No one seems to want to get their landlord's permission.  Our director is curious to find out what other shelters' (that do not have this requirement) return rates are. How many and how often are animals being returned because they weren't actually allowed to have the animal in their rental. Any help on this question would be much appreciated. Or if anyone knows of any links to any studies done on this topic, that would be great as well. Thank you!

Hi Erin, 
I just calculated the return rate for my shelter in preparation for a meeting with an agency that was concerned about returns and adopters not being screened appropriately. The overall return rate was 5% in 2023. Of those,  0.3% were housing related. My shelter does not require landlord permission and did not have a trial adoption/foster to adopt program in place. 

Hello, My name is Erin and I am the Foster Coordinator at a humane society.  Currently, in order to foster animals or even adopt an animal from our shelter we require landlord permission or a pet policy if the family does not own their home. We are considering removing this requirement as it is one of the main things preventing adoptions and gaining foster families. No one seems to want to get their landlord's permission.  Our director is curious to find out what other shelters' (that do not have this requirement) return rates are. How many and how often are animals being returned because they weren't actually allowed to have the animal in their rental. Any help on this question would be much appreciated. Or if anyone knows of any links to any studies done on this topic, that would be great as well. Thank you!

Hi Erin, 
I just calculated the return rate for my shelter in preparation for a meeting with an agency that was concerned about returns and adopters not being screened appropriately. The overall return rate was 5% in 2023. Of those,  0.3% were housing related. My shelter does not require landlord permission and did not have a trial adoption/foster to adopt program in place. 

Hello, My name is Erin and I am the Foster Coordinator at a humane society.  Currently, in order to foster animals or even adopt an animal from our shelter we require landlord permission or a pet policy if the family does not own their home. We are considering removing this requirement as it is one of the main things preventing adoptions and gaining foster families. No one seems to want to get their landlord's permission.  Our director is curious to find out what other shelters' (that do not have this requirement) return rates are. How many and how often are animals being returned because they weren't actually allowed to have the animal in their rental. Any help on this question would be much appreciated. Or if anyone knows of any links to any studies done on this topic, that would be great as well. Thank you!

Hello, My name is Erin and I am the Foster Coordinator at a humane society.  Currently, in order to foster animals or even adopt an animal from our shelter we require landlord permission or a pet policy if the family does not own their home. We are considering removing this requirement as it is one of the main things preventing adoptions and gaining foster families. No one seems to want to get their landlord's permission.  Our director is curious to find out what other shelters' (that do not have this requirement) return rates are. How many and how often are animals being returned because they weren't actually allowed to have the animal in their rental. Any help on this question would be much appreciated. Or if anyone knows of any links to any studies done on this topic, that would be great as well. Thank you!

Hello Erin, 

This is a great question and discussion. Based on my 7+ years in the rescue community, I think it depends on the situation. Are you in a situation where you can be very picky about your adopters? I volunteer at a municipal shelter that is just trying to keep kennels open for new intakes every day. It's the 4th largest shelter in the country. They don't do home visits because it is just not possible with staffing. There are lots of positive adoption stories and some returns where we gather information about the dog's time in the home and then of course the ones that are found on the street after adoption, which is rare. It's not a perfect system and never will be but are you in a position to tell the potential adopter they are just taking the dog as a foster, and then finalize the adoption after a few weeks. I say a few weeks because of the 'rules of 3'. 

From what I have experienced, there are great homes that have terrible landlords that don't communicate with their tenets. The tenets pay the rent and live without oversight from the landlord bc they just aren't present. The adopters know their situation. They know the rules. They are adults. Who are we to deny them a pet because we don't have written consent from the landlord. It sounds crazy typing it out, but people know their situation. Will there be returns? Of course...there always will be. But most adults can decide whether they are able to have the dog in their home. 

The more restrictions, the less adoptions. The best you can do to control the situation is ask the adult adopter if they are allowed to have the pet. Explain to them why it's important. I have made a conscious decision to not judge adopters. They can be the richest people and the worst adopters or the poorest family to adopt that provide the best home. We want to do what's best, but at what cost to the dogs? Do we deny them a home because the family wasn't 'perfect' in our book? That seems extreme to me. 

I hope people don't come after me for this response. I truly want to be a part of the discussion and not a hindrance. 

Amy

Hello, My name is Erin and I am the Foster Coordinator at a humane society.  Currently, in order to foster animals or even adopt an animal from our shelter we require landlord permission or a pet policy if the family does not own their home. We are considering removing this requirement as it is one of the main things preventing adoptions and gaining foster families. No one seems to want to get their landlord's permission.  Our director is curious to find out what other shelters' (that do not have this requirement) return rates are. How many and how often are animals being returned because they weren't actually allowed to have the animal in their rental. Any help on this question would be much appreciated. Or if anyone knows of any links to any studies done on this topic, that would be great as well. Thank you!

Hello Erin, 

This is a great question and discussion. Based on my 7+ years in the rescue community, I think it depends on the situation. Are you in a situation where you can be very picky about your adopters? I volunteer at a municipal shelter that is just trying to keep kennels open for new intakes every day. It's the 4th largest shelter in the country. They don't do home visits because it is just not possible with staffing. There are lots of positive adoption stories and some returns where we gather information about the dog's time in the home and then of course the ones that are found on the street after adoption, which is rare. It's not a perfect system and never will be but are you in a position to tell the potential adopter they are just taking the dog as a foster, and then finalize the adoption after a few weeks. I say a few weeks because of the 'rules of 3'. 

From what I have experienced, there are great homes that have terrible landlords that don't communicate with their tenets. The tenets pay the rent and live without oversight from the landlord bc they just aren't present. The adopters know their situation. They know the rules. They are adults. Who are we to deny them a pet because we don't have written consent from the landlord. It sounds crazy typing it out, but people know their situation. Will there be returns? Of course...there always will be. But most adults can decide whether they are able to have the dog in their home. 

The more restrictions, the less adoptions. The best you can do to control the situation is ask the adult adopter if they are allowed to have the pet. Explain to them why it's important. I have made a conscious decision to not judge adopters. They can be the richest people and the worst adopters or the poorest family to adopt that provide the best home. We want to do what's best, but at what cost to the dogs? Do we deny them a home because the family wasn't 'perfect' in our book? That seems extreme to me. 

I hope people don't come after me for this response. I truly want to be a part of the discussion and not a hindrance. 

Amy

Hello, My name is Erin and I am the Foster Coordinator at a humane society.  Currently, in order to foster animals or even adopt an animal from our shelter we require landlord permission or a pet policy if the family does not own their home. We are considering removing this requirement as it is one of the main things preventing adoptions and gaining foster families. No one seems to want to get their landlord's permission.  Our director is curious to find out what other shelters' (that do not have this requirement) return rates are. How many and how often are animals being returned because they weren't actually allowed to have the animal in their rental. Any help on this question would be much appreciated. Or if anyone knows of any links to any studies done on this topic, that would be great as well. Thank you!

Hello, My name is Erin and I am the Foster Coordinator at a humane society.  Currently, in order to foster animals or even adopt an animal from our shelter we require landlord permission or a pet policy if the family does not own their home. We are considering removing this requirement as it is one of the main things preventing adoptions and gaining foster families. No one seems to want to get their landlord's permission.  Our director is curious to find out what other shelters' (that do not have this requirement) return rates are. How many and how often are animals being returned because they weren't actually allowed to have the animal in their rental. Any help on this question would be much appreciated. Or if anyone knows of any links to any studies done on this topic, that would be great as well. Thank you!

Hello, My name is Erin and I am the Foster Coordinator at a humane society.  Currently, in order to foster animals or even adopt an animal from our shelter we require landlord permission or a pet policy if the family does not own their home. We are considering removing this requirement as it is one of the main things preventing adoptions and gaining foster families. No one seems to want to get their landlord's permission.  Our director is curious to find out what other shelters' (that do not have this requirement) return rates are. How many and how often are animals being returned because they weren't actually allowed to have the animal in their rental. Any help on this question would be much appreciated. Or if anyone knows of any links to any studies done on this topic, that would be great as well. Thank you!

Hello, My name is Erin and I am the Foster Coordinator at a humane society.  Currently, in order to foster animals or even adopt an animal from our shelter we require landlord permission or a pet policy if the family does not own their home. We are considering removing this requirement as it is one of the main things preventing adoptions and gaining foster families. No one seems to want to get their landlord's permission.  Our director is curious to find out what other shelters' (that do not have this requirement) return rates are. How many and how often are animals being returned because they weren't actually allowed to have the animal in their rental. Any help on this question would be much appreciated. Or if anyone knows of any links to any studies done on this topic, that would be great as well. Thank you!

Hello, My name is Erin and I am the Foster Coordinator at a humane society.  Currently, in order to foster animals or even adopt an animal from our shelter we require landlord permission or a pet policy if the family does not own their home. We are considering removing this requirement as it is one of the main things preventing adoptions and gaining foster families. No one seems to want to get their landlord's permission.  Our director is curious to find out what other shelters' (that do not have this requirement) return rates are. How many and how often are animals being returned because they weren't actually allowed to have the animal in their rental. Any help on this question would be much appreciated. Or if anyone knows of any links to any studies done on this topic, that would be great as well. Thank you!

Hi Erin!  My name is Kelly and I am the Adoptions Manager at a Humane Society.  About a year ago, we revamped our adoption policies to remove barriers, the main one being checking for pet policy.  It has done wonders for our adoption numbers, especially for dogs!  One of the big things a lot of our staff were worried about was animals being returned because of the pet policy.  Over the last year, out of hundreds of dog adoptions, we have only had a handful of returns because the adopter could not have them in their rental.  Literally.  I was actually shocked myself at how few were returned.  We did add a section to our Adoption Questionnaire stating we welcome adopters who rent/live in apartments, and advising them that many landlords and management companies do have certain restrictions about breed, weight, and/or number of pets.

Overall, it has been a tremendously positive change, and matched some fantastic people with animals they would have never seen if we took restrictions into account!

Best of luck!

------------------------------
Kelly O'Connor
Adoptions Manager
The Humane Society of Harford County
MD

Original Message:
Sent: 02-20-2024 07:50 AM
From: Erin Robinson
Subject: Adoption/Foster Requirements

Hello, My name is Erin and I am the Foster Coordinator at a humane society.  Currently, in order to foster animals or even adopt an animal from our shelter we require landlord permission or a pet policy if the family does not own their home. We are considering removing this requirement as it is one of the main things preventing adoptions and gaining foster families. No one seems to want to get their landlord's permission.  Our director is curious to find out what other shelters' (that do not have this requirement) return rates are. How many and how often are animals being returned because they weren't actually allowed to have the animal in their rental. Any help on this question would be much appreciated. Or if anyone knows of any links to any studies done on this topic, that would be great as well. Thank you!

Thanks Kelly! Our staff is so divided on this issue fearing that so many animals will get returned or dumped. And then we have the issue of, is it then ok not to press landlord permission if it is a house. But if it is an apartment complex or a school campus, does that then become a problem? 

Hi Erin!  My name is Kelly and I am the Adoptions Manager at a Humane Society.  About a year ago, we revamped our adoption policies to remove barriers, the main one being checking for pet policy.  It has done wonders for our adoption numbers, especially for dogs!  One of the big things a lot of our staff were worried about was animals being returned because of the pet policy.  Over the last year, out of hundreds of dog adoptions, we have only had a handful of returns because the adopter could not have them in their rental.  Literally.  I was actually shocked myself at how few were returned.  We did add a section to our Adoption Questionnaire stating we welcome adopters who rent/live in apartments, and advising them that many landlords and management companies do have certain restrictions about breed, weight, and/or number of pets.

Overall, it has been a tremendously positive change, and matched some fantastic people with animals they would have never seen if we took restrictions into account!

Best of luck!

------------------------------
Kelly O'Connor
Adoptions Manager
The Humane Society of Harford County
MD

Original Message:
Sent: 02-20-2024 07:50 AM
From: Erin Robinson
Subject: Adoption/Foster Requirements

Hello, My name is Erin and I am the Foster Coordinator at a humane society.  Currently, in order to foster animals or even adopt an animal from our shelter we require landlord permission or a pet policy if the family does not own their home. We are considering removing this requirement as it is one of the main things preventing adoptions and gaining foster families. No one seems to want to get their landlord's permission.  Our director is curious to find out what other shelters' (that do not have this requirement) return rates are. How many and how often are animals being returned because they weren't actually allowed to have the animal in their rental. Any help on this question would be much appreciated. Or if anyone knows of any links to any studies done on this topic, that would be great as well. Thank you!

Hi Erin!  My name is Kelly and I am the Adoptions Manager at a Humane Society.  About a year ago, we revamped our adoption policies to remove barriers, the main one being checking for pet policy.  It has done wonders for our adoption numbers, especially for dogs!  One of the big things a lot of our staff were worried about was animals being returned because of the pet policy.  Over the last year, out of hundreds of dog adoptions, we have only had a handful of returns because the adopter could not have them in their rental.  Literally.  I was actually shocked myself at how few were returned.  We did add a section to our Adoption Questionnaire stating we welcome adopters who rent/live in apartments, and advising them that many landlords and management companies do have certain restrictions about breed, weight, and/or number of pets.

Overall, it has been a tremendously positive change, and matched some fantastic people with animals they would have never seen if we took restrictions into account!

Best of luck!

------------------------------
Kelly O'Connor
Adoptions Manager
The Humane Society of Harford County
MD

Original Message:
Sent: 02-20-2024 07:50 AM
From: Erin Robinson
Subject: Adoption/Foster Requirements

Hello, My name is Erin and I am the Foster Coordinator at a humane society.  Currently, in order to foster animals or even adopt an animal from our shelter we require landlord permission or a pet policy if the family does not own their home. We are considering removing this requirement as it is one of the main things preventing adoptions and gaining foster families. No one seems to want to get their landlord's permission.  Our director is curious to find out what other shelters' (that do not have this requirement) return rates are. How many and how often are animals being returned because they weren't actually allowed to have the animal in their rental. Any help on this question would be much appreciated. Or if anyone knows of any links to any studies done on this topic, that would be great as well. Thank you!

Hello, My name is Erin and I am the Foster Coordinator at a humane society.  Currently, in order to foster animals or even adopt an animal from our shelter we require landlord permission or a pet policy if the family does not own their home. We are considering removing this requirement as it is one of the main things preventing adoptions and gaining foster families. No one seems to want to get their landlord's permission.  Our director is curious to find out what other shelters' (that do not have this requirement) return rates are. How many and how often are animals being returned because they weren't actually allowed to have the animal in their rental. Any help on this question would be much appreciated. Or if anyone knows of any links to any studies done on this topic, that would be great as well. Thank you!

Hi Erin!

Happy to chat about this if you need support. We removed our landlord barrier for fostering probably 4-5 years ago. We rarely have to move fosters due to landlord issues. Last year we removed our landlord requirement for adopting as well. We prefer a conversation in these instances.

For example on our adoption applications and foster sign ups we use the following language:

• "Are you familiar with your landlord policy?" (Yes, No, Not Applicable)
•  "If you rent, is your home subject to breed or weight restrictions?" (Yes, No, Not Applicable)
  • We then have the disclaimer: It is important that you review your lease agreement and/or speak with your landlord prior to adopting a pet. Many landlords have restrictions on whether you can own pets, how many pets you can own, and the type of pets allowed (including size and breed). Many landlords discriminate against pit bull-type dogs and many of our dogs fall into that very generic category. The last thing we want you to do is take home a pet and fall in love and then have to return the pet to us. That is heartbreaking for you and the pet who has bonded with you. We expect that you are taking ownership of verifying the pet policy for your rental situation prior to adoption.

Since starting the new policy for NOT calling landlords, putting the work on the adopters, and making it conversation based we have not had adoption returns due to landlord. 

We have been trying to be as barrier-free as possible for both adopting and fostering, and I am overjoyed with the results. I am so glad to see other organizations looking into this. Well done!!

Hello, My name is Erin and I am the Foster Coordinator at a humane society.  Currently, in order to foster animals or even adopt an animal from our shelter we require landlord permission or a pet policy if the family does not own their home. We are considering removing this requirement as it is one of the main things preventing adoptions and gaining foster families. No one seems to want to get their landlord's permission.  Our director is curious to find out what other shelters' (that do not have this requirement) return rates are. How many and how often are animals being returned because they weren't actually allowed to have the animal in their rental. Any help on this question would be much appreciated. Or if anyone knows of any links to any studies done on this topic, that would be great as well. Thank you!

Hello, My name is Erin and I am the Foster Coordinator at a humane society.  Currently, in order to foster animals or even adopt an animal from our shelter we require landlord permission or a pet policy if the family does not own their home. We are considering removing this requirement as it is one of the main things preventing adoptions and gaining foster families. No one seems to want to get their landlord's permission.  Our director is curious to find out what other shelters' (that do not have this requirement) return rates are. How many and how often are animals being returned because they weren't actually allowed to have the animal in their rental. Any help on this question would be much appreciated. Or if anyone knows of any links to any studies done on this topic, that would be great as well. Thank you!

#AdoptionsandAdoptionPrograms
#FosterPrograms

------------------------------
Erin Robinson

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Hello, My name is Erin and I am the Foster Coordinator at a humane society.  Currently, in order to foster animals or even adopt an animal from our shelter we require landlord permission or a pet policy if the family does not own their home. We are considering removing this requirement as it is one of the main things preventing adoptions and gaining foster families. No one seems to want to get their landlord's permission.  Our director is curious to find out what other shelters' (that do not have this requirement) return rates are. How many and how often are animals being returned because they weren't actually allowed to have the animal in their rental. Any help on this question would be much appreciated. Or if anyone knows of any links to any studies done on this topic, that would be great as well. Thank you!

Hi all, 

My name is Janice and professionally, I am Realtor. My answer is specific to California.  One of the firms I previously worked for was the 3'rd largest property management in our region.  Here in CA the owner OR MANAGER can dictate pet policy. i.e. size, breed, number,  weight, type (cat/dog), amount of deposit, amount of monthly increased pet charge for animal. 

The original owner of the firm was adamant NO PIT OR PIT LOOKING dogs.  Not even as service animal.  Here in CA a service animal or emotional support are exempt from deposit and can't be blocked from renting based on animal restrictions. 

Most of the time I would see the unwritten policy for property managers just deny the applicant out right.   Right now a personal friend of mine is renting 3 blocks away. They would love to foster and have "approval" but the landlord will NOT make fence repairs.  They live on fairly busy street so a cat is out of question but they see what I do with fosters how I care for fosters and would love to do the same. But can't afford to do major fence repairs. It's gone on for 18 months so far. 

Another short story, a member of the congregation I belong to called me and asked about a attorney referral for their adult disabled daughter who is living in a condo the parents own. The HOA complex  was very upscale an ran with lots of people on there hands. The HOA was trying get the daughter to give up her service animal that is Bull Terrier.  I was able to have attorney write a letter to the HOA that this was a service dog and if they persisted they (the parents) would have no problem filing a discrimination suit. 

I have heard of, but don't know where to find it, but group that will pay the pet deposit.  

On another side note. I belong to  a group of Real Estate professionals that that try to help market a local rescue. Called THE REAL ESATE PET RESCUE PROJECT.  It's not a huge group but if you want to be connected to RE professional to help market your rescue, please let me know. 

Hello, My name is Erin and I am the Foster Coordinator at a humane society.  Currently, in order to foster animals or even adopt an animal from our shelter we require landlord permission or a pet policy if the family does not own their home. We are considering removing this requirement as it is one of the main things preventing adoptions and gaining foster families. No one seems to want to get their landlord's permission.  Our director is curious to find out what other shelters' (that do not have this requirement) return rates are. How many and how often are animals being returned because they weren't actually allowed to have the animal in their rental. Any help on this question would be much appreciated. Or if anyone knows of any links to any studies done on this topic, that would be great as well. Thank you!

Second post from me on this discussion .We have the landlord approval in place. A couple of times of year we get called  from landlords whose tenants have blown town and left the pets  behind. The tenants did not have approval for the pets.... We  just want to make sure pets that our leaving our shelter are allowed in the adoptor's home. we also have clients calling to surrender for the same reason. Landlord found out they got a pet in a "no pets" allowed rental...

Hi all, 

My name is Janice and professionally, I am Realtor. My answer is specific to California.  One of the firms I previously worked for was the 3'rd largest property management in our region.  Here in CA the owner OR MANAGER can dictate pet policy. i.e. size, breed, number,  weight, type (cat/dog), amount of deposit, amount of monthly increased pet charge for animal. 

The original owner of the firm was adamant NO PIT OR PIT LOOKING dogs.  Not even as service animal.  Here in CA a service animal or emotional support are exempt from deposit and can't be blocked from renting based on animal restrictions. 

Most of the time I would see the unwritten policy for property managers just deny the applicant out right.   Right now a personal friend of mine is renting 3 blocks away. They would love to foster and have "approval" but the landlord will NOT make fence repairs.  They live on fairly busy street so a cat is out of question but they see what I do with fosters how I care for fosters and would love to do the same. But can't afford to do major fence repairs. It's gone on for 18 months so far. 

Another short story, a member of the congregation I belong to called me and asked about a attorney referral for their adult disabled daughter who is living in a condo the parents own. The HOA complex  was very upscale an ran with lots of people on there hands. The HOA was trying get the daughter to give up her service animal that is Bull Terrier.  I was able to have attorney write a letter to the HOA that this was a service dog and if they persisted they (the parents) would have no problem filing a discrimination suit. 

I have heard of, but don't know where to find it, but group that will pay the pet deposit.  

On another side note. I belong to  a group of Real Estate professionals that that try to help market a local rescue. Called THE REAL ESATE PET RESCUE PROJECT.  It's not a huge group but if you want to be connected to RE professional to help market your rescue, please let me know. 

Hello, My name is Erin and I am the Foster Coordinator at a humane society.  Currently, in order to foster animals or even adopt an animal from our shelter we require landlord permission or a pet policy if the family does not own their home. We are considering removing this requirement as it is one of the main things preventing adoptions and gaining foster families. No one seems to want to get their landlord's permission.  Our director is curious to find out what other shelters' (that do not have this requirement) return rates are. How many and how often are animals being returned because they weren't actually allowed to have the animal in their rental. Any help on this question would be much appreciated. Or if anyone knows of any links to any studies done on this topic, that would be great as well. Thank you!

Hi all, 

My name is Janice and professionally, I am Realtor. My answer is specific to California.  One of the firms I previously worked for was the 3'rd largest property management in our region.  Here in CA the owner OR MANAGER can dictate pet policy. i.e. size, breed, number,  weight, type (cat/dog), amount of deposit, amount of monthly increased pet charge for animal. 

The original owner of the firm was adamant NO PIT OR PIT LOOKING dogs.  Not even as service animal.  Here in CA a service animal or emotional support are exempt from deposit and can't be blocked from renting based on animal restrictions. 

Most of the time I would see the unwritten policy for property managers just deny the applicant out right.   Right now a personal friend of mine is renting 3 blocks away. They would love to foster and have "approval" but the landlord will NOT make fence repairs.  They live on fairly busy street so a cat is out of question but they see what I do with fosters how I care for fosters and would love to do the same. But can't afford to do major fence repairs. It's gone on for 18 months so far. 

Another short story, a member of the congregation I belong to called me and asked about a attorney referral for their adult disabled daughter who is living in a condo the parents own. The HOA complex  was very upscale an ran with lots of people on there hands. The HOA was trying get the daughter to give up her service animal that is Bull Terrier.  I was able to have attorney write a letter to the HOA that this was a service dog and if they persisted they (the parents) would have no problem filing a discrimination suit. 

I have heard of, but don't know where to find it, but group that will pay the pet deposit.  

On another side note. I belong to  a group of Real Estate professionals that that try to help market a local rescue. Called THE REAL ESATE PET RESCUE PROJECT.  It's not a huge group but if you want to be connected to RE professional to help market your rescue, please let me know. 

Hello, My name is Erin and I am the Foster Coordinator at a humane society.  Currently, in order to foster animals or even adopt an animal from our shelter we require landlord permission or a pet policy if the family does not own their home. We are considering removing this requirement as it is one of the main things preventing adoptions and gaining foster families. No one seems to want to get their landlord's permission.  Our director is curious to find out what other shelters' (that do not have this requirement) return rates are. How many and how often are animals being returned because they weren't actually allowed to have the animal in their rental. Any help on this question would be much appreciated. Or if anyone knows of any links to any studies done on this topic, that would be great as well. Thank you!