Adoption Processes

Today one of my Facebook friends shared an article (Animal Sheltering/The Third Degree) and I immediately clicked on it to see what it had to say.  This is a pretty hot topic among rescuers, shelter workers, and people who want to adopt a pet.  I've gone back and forth on it quite a bit myself.  I'd like to think I've evolved in my thinking, but the truth is probably closer to "I've finally matured at the ripe old age of 40, and am therefore more open minded than I was in my 20's and 30's". 

Whatever.

The important thing to know for this blog entry is that I have experience volunteering with a few different rescues; each one having their own adoption process. I have conducted interviews of adopters, home checks, reference checks, and vet checks.  I've done it all and I have  definite opinions (shocker) about what works and what doesn't.  I'm not going to rewrite the article I linked above, though.  Instead, I'm going to tell you what I personally feel  about the elements that may be included in the processes.

For the record, I recognize that shelters and rescues are entitled to create whatever kind of adoption process they want.  That's their perogative. They are the ones investing time and money into the health and well-being of the animals they take in.  I'm not judging any organizations that I currently work with or any that I have volunteered with in the past. I'm just giving my opinions, and mostly judging myself.

I will admit that in my earlier years as a rescue volunteer I was highly judgemental. I was very attached to many of the animals I did interviews for and, rather than having pleasant conversations with people about the dog they were interested in, I looked for stuff to be wrong.  I felt like it was my job to make sure I was only sending animals home with the very best applicants.  I was a pain in the butt. Seriously, the me of today would Gibbs slap the me of yesterday if I were trying to adopt. I'm happy to say that I have overcome that attitude. These days, rather than look for flaws in adopters, I talk to them about what they're looking for in a pet, and if the animal they're interested in doesn't match that description, we talk about it. Sometimes they decide they still want that particular animal, and sometimes they ask for help finding one that matches what they're looking for.  It's much more fun than the old way I used to do it.

Now that I've admitted I was not the best adoption counselor out there, let me tell you about some conclusions I've come to.

QUESTIONAIRES

I've seen some pretty lengthy adoption applications. I understand the purpose of the long application is to be sure animals are being placed in good, responsible homes. However...I personally don't like answering a ton of questions, wondering if I'm giving the right answers. I'm pretty sure most other people feel the same way.  There is more than one "right" way to raise a pet. A wise woman once said to me: "The purpose of the interview isn't to decide if you'd like to have dinner with a family. The purpose is to find out if they can take care of a dog." When it was put to me like that, the light bulb went on and I figured out that most potential adopters don't need as much scrutiny as I was putting them under. Most people mean well and if they don't, either you'll know by the way the conversation goes, or they will pass your organization by because they aren't willing to pay hundreds of dollars to aquire a pet they can mistreat. Bad people will find free animals on Craigslist. That's a whole other topic.

REFERENCE CHECKS

I have done dozens of these. Do you know how many times a reference has told me that someone should NOT be approved to adopt?  Once. And even that time, the reason wasn't strong enough for the rescue to deny the application. In my opinion, all this exercise does is take up time and energy that could be devoted to other things.

VET CHECKS

Of course rescues and shelters want to make sure their animals will be well taken care of by their families. However, I personally don't take my animals to the vet all that often. I give my pets standard vaccinations myself. You can order them online or buy them at feed stores. I see no reason to pay a vet double the cost of a vaccine plus an office visit fee when I can adminster it myself. For heartworm tests/preventative and fecal tests I go to VIP Pet Care.  For rabies vaccinations I go to low cost rabies clinics put on by my local animal shelter. If my animals get sick or injured, that's when I go to the vet. Jezebel tore both of her ACL's about five years ago, and for that I took her to the vet AND a surgeon. That bill was right around $5k, so yes, I will spend the money if it's needed.  I love my pets, but vet care is expensive, and I do what I can to keep the costs down while making sure my animals stay healthy. If someone were to do a vet check on me, I would probably fail.

HOME CHECKS

This is another one of those things I feel takes up unnecessary time and energy.  If a person or family is willing to pay an adoption fee of $200-$400, it's safe to say that they are going to take good care of their pet. Plus, doing a home check doesn't guarantee that the adoption is going to work out. Adoptions don't stick for many reasons that can't be forseen at the time of a home check.  From my own perspective, I don't like strange people coming to my house. If I'm looking for a furry family member, I will skip organizations with a home check requirement. Does this mean I have something to hide?  No. It just means I value my privacy.  If people are trying to acquire animals for nefarious reason, they are going to go for the free animals they can find online.

There is no shortage of homeless animals out there. One thing ALL rescuers and shelter workers agree on is that we would rather see people adopt animals than buy them from pet stores and breeders. We should not make the experience so difficult or unpleasant that people would rather support puppy mills than go through the process of trying to adopt. Hopefully one day all of this will be a non-issue because there won't be a homeless pet crisis. But until that day, we should make the process easy and fun for everyone involved.