… From KC Dog blog – Improving Customer Service Imperative to Increasing Adoptions

The problems many people have in getting approval to adopt has actually hit the mainstream — and it is becoming a bit of a joke among the general public. Just last week I caught this clip of a comedian talking about the adoption process. I think even more disappointing than the comedian’s jokes, themselves, is the fact that the woman in the audience that he keys in on is so adamently agreeing with him about the hoops that she had to go through for adoption. Watch the video – -it’s only a couple of minutes long.

And from the comments;

It’s sad how accurately that guy’s joke sums up the problem with the value system a lot of shelters have — in other words, that death is better for an animal than a lifestyle that is less than perfect in every way. We need some more realists and fewer idealist ‘my way or the highway’-types in the shelter world, it seems.

Go here to read the whole thing and watch the vid.

Blacktown pound’s god-awful ‘bidding’ system is under fire from their local community.

Bidding madness riles locals at Blacktown Pound

More animals are killed at Blacktown Animal Holding Facility than anywhere else in the state, yet it continues to use an archaic system where people have to bid to rescue a homeless pet.

The system allows the council to make money but puts some popular animals usually the cute puppies beyond the reach of an average family.
…

Early this month, a little female terrier at the pound grabbed so much attention she was bid for by a dozen people and eventually sold for $400.

The Castle family, who missed out on the dog despite entering a bid of $150, 2 times the minimum sale price of $60, are outraged, saying 11 other dogs could have been rescued.

Instead, 11 families went home empty-handed.
…..

A Blacktown Council spokeswoman said the bidding system was introduced to discourage semi-professional and backyard breeders who would go to the pound every morning and buy the desirable animals.

She said animals within the pound’s seven-to-14-day holding period could be bid for.

“When the animal is due out, the highest tender is contacted and offered the animal,” she said.

Cr Russ Dickens, a Blacktown vet, said the ‘worthless’ system should be eliminated.

He introduced a no-kill policy late last year and said removing the tender process would help save animals on death row.

In 2008, 1419 dogs and 3146 cats were put down at the council facility.

“We don’t want to make money out of them,” Cr Dickens said. “We want to get them out of there and into a positive environment.”

Now I’m not going to give Blacktown too much of a roasting here, because I genuinely believe there is change underway at their pound. But if they’re serious about their pledge to become No Kill, then they absolutely have to make overhauling their processes a priority.

Below is an outline of the programs needed in any community to take it toward a No Kill future.

A huge thanks to Fred of One Bark at a Time for putting a list together for his community, that allows us to all to build one for our own.

Desexing

With a full pound and a high euthanasia rate, the present system of releasing undesexed animals to the public must be stopped.

- Modern adopters expect to pay an adoption fee that includes desexing, so develop variable or set adoption fees which includes the cost of vet work.

- Reach out to local vets to desex adult pets before adoption.

- Reach out to rescue groups, allowing them to use their own veterinarian to do the surgeries.

- Provide a voucher to all kitten/puppy adopters so they can get their pet desexed free when their pet reaches 6 months of age.

- Follow up with people who have adopted a kitten/puppy to ensure the animal is desexed at six months of age.

- Partner with local councils to lobby support from the community to help open a low cost desexing clinic at Blacktown.

- Invest all revenue from pet registrations back into animal care and outreach.

Reducing intakes

- Target vulnerable sections of the community with outreach pet desexing programs

- Identify areas where people have pet behavioural problems. Work to increase the numbers of single use dog off leash areas in those area. Engage local behavioural trainers and vets to increase puppy pre-school opportunities.

- Implement the policy that lost pet who are wearing ID or who have a microchip, are taken straight home by council officials, to decrease the impounded shelter population. (If there is a problem with the percentage of pets registered, see the Calgary model, offering service in return for compliance).

- Work with and assist local cat colony carers to offer an alternative to impoundment to unrehomable cats.

Getting pets adopted

Pre–adoption

- Give pets a thorough health and behavioural assessment before they are put in the adoption program.

- Any health issues should be identified and a treatment plan put into place to get the animal healthy and adoptable.

- Any behavioural issues (food aggression/dog aggression) should be identified and a treatment plan put into place to get the animal healthy and adoptable.

- A basic obedience program should be implemented for every dog admitted, using trained volunteers under the direction of a behavioural trainer.

- A puppy school should be offered for puppy socialisation and basic training.

- A socialisation program should be implemented for all animals admitted.

- Ensure pets available for adoption should be promptly listed in all available media; local newspapers, PetRescue and on the Blacktown Council website.

Adoptions

- Implement clear, concise, and consistent adoption protocols (a screening process)

- Adoption staff should have access to animal information (behaviour, health) so that match can be made between potential adopters and animals.

- Partner with local pet supplies stores to adopt out pets from their stores, or promote animal adoption in store.

- Expand partnerships with reputable local rescue groups to allow them to take animals and adopt them out.

- Promote open days at the shelter in conjunction with special times of the year (valentines day, christmas etc) and join existing local pet events to showcase animals.

- Develop a committee that will be in charge of creating an adoption strategy (specific to each animal) for animals that have been overlooked for adoption for an extended period.

- Implement a ‘secret shopper’ style program to audit staff behaviour towards potential adopters to identify any problems with customer service. Reward staff who offer a great adopter experience.

Adoption After-Care

- Help adopters access local pet care information; an adoption kit provided to all adopters with information on how to help their new pet adjust to their new home, introducing a new pet to an existing pet, where to get help with behavioural issues, exercise, how to find a vet, grooming, etc.

- Create a hotline for people to call if they run into issues with their new pet. The shelters involvement with an animal shouldn’t stop once the animal has left the building. Many return adoptions are related to behavioural issues and a system needs to be put into place to help adopters with the issues that lead to return adoptions.

- Partner up with dog trainers, grooming facilities, and veterinary clinics. These businesses may be willing to donate services or offer a discount to Blacktown animals in exchange for free advertising or promotion opportunities.

- Start a low cost basic obedience program in conjunction with local behavioural trainers. This will foster good relationships with members of the community, prevent surrenders due to minor behavioural issues, and provide revenue for the shelter. These basic training classes should be free for all adopted dogs.

Working with Rescues

- Expand and develop relationships with reputable rescue organisations.

- Contact rescues as soon as a potential candidate for transfer is identified.

- Create a links page on the Blacktown website profiling these rescues groups.

- Assist rescues with low-cost veterinary care and access to free desexing.

- Encourage the community to donate to local rescue groups.

- Organize all-in-rescue Adoptathons.

Working with Other Animal Shelters

- Identify shelters willing to work to with Blacktown in both regional and metropolitan areas.

- Create an animal trading program. If animals that are best suited to live in a rural environment, send those animals to a partner shelter in a rural environment in exchange for animals that would be well suited for an urban environment.

- Offer to help relieve overcrowding in other shelters when resources are available.

- Develop a positive working relationship between major shelters in the state.

Foster Program

- Create an active and continuous foster family recruitment strategy. Call for foster carers on the Blacktown Council website.

- Give these foster carers access to a behavioural training program and ongoing support.

- Allow foster parents to adopt their foster animals.

Volunteers

- Create an active and continuous volunteer recruitment strategy. Call for volunteers on the Blacktown Council website.

- Create a list of every specific role a volunteer can play at Blacktown, from laundry to cat grooming, to fundraising. Post this list on the website (with the details of each role) so that the public is aware of how their skills and interests can be used to help the animals.

- Work to match potential volunteers with areas of the shelter that match their interests.

- Create a volunteer training program for every aspect of the shelter; eg. Volunteers who work with animals should be given an animal behaviour course.

- Recruit volunteers who can help with specific jobs. Graphic designers, photographers, event planners, professional writers, etc can offer their specific skills to improve the website, information packages, plan fundraisers, etc. Create a list of these people and their skills so that the volunteer coordinators know who to call when specific jobs need to be done at the shelter.

Community Outreach and Public Relations

- Create a section of the website dedicated to keeping the public up to date on changes being made to improve policies and procedures in the shelter.

- Revamp the adoption aspect of the website. There should be images of the animals available for adoption, and good descriptions of them (can be done by volunteers).

- Create a section of the website dedicated to the distribution of information on how to deal with behavioural issues, the exercise needs of animals, the nutritional needs of animals, how to socialise animals, how to pet-proof your home, animal safety, the importance of veterinary care, etc.

- Create a listing of local animal rescue organisations.

- Create a volunteer section of the website with a list of ways volunteers can get involved.

- Use social media; a blog or a facebook page to promote animals at Blacktown. Allow the community to take control of promoting available animals themselves.

- Once a month do a write up on a staff member so that the public can get to know the people that work at the shelter. Do the same for a volunteer each month to encourage participation.

- Keep the public up to date on new programs and existing programs.

Create a Second Facility for Long-Term Animals

Work with the community to build a facility for animals with behavioural issues that need more work than can be provided at the pound. The goal of this facility would be to rehabilitate animals that are unsuitable for adoption. Animals would stay at this facility until their behaviour has been modified and they can be safely put into the adoption program.

In the case of animals where the behaviour cannot be modified enough for public adoption, the new facility would become an animal sanctuary for these “unadoptable” animals where they can live for the rest of their lives.

The annual rush of fireworks-spooked dogs is all we can talk about in January, with a New Years Eve rush and even more predicted from Australia Day;

New year sends dogs crackers in Wyndham

Lost Dogs Home shelter manager Sue Conroy said 161 dogs were brought into the North Melbourne pound from Thursday, December 31 to Sunday, January 3, after escaping backyards across Melbourne to flee loud noises.

“We had 3 1/2 hours of non-stop rumbling from the storms, which spooked dogs,” Ms Conroy said.

Many Whitehorse pooches flee fireworks, thunder

Spokeswoman Brenda Champion said 121 animals were taken to the Cormack Rd shelter last weekend, including many which had become frightened and run away during New Year’s Eve fireworks celebrations.

New lease of life for Stella

Dogs’ ears were battered with a double-whammy of thunderstorms and fireworks on New Year’s Eve that panicked dozens of our four-legged friends into running away from home.

The RSPCA’s metropolitan shelters picked up more than 110 stray dogs who went wandering to escape the noise.

Dogs go crackers in Whittlesea

Dozens of petrified dogs have fled their homes in terror during a spate of illegal fireworks and thunderstorms over New Year’s Eve.

Staff at the Epping RSPCA Shelter have been flat out since New Year’s Day trying to reunite owners with more than 45 animals that fled their yards amid the dramatic sound and light show.

She said 15 dogs remained unclaimed, including several maltese terriers, german shepherds, kelpies, jack russell terriers, pomeranians and a staffordshire terrier.

Which begs the question; if this happens every year, why aren’t we using the tools at our disposal to remedy it?

Remember, these dogs aren’t dumped – up until the first crack of fireworks they were living somewhere are someone’s pet. Now, they’re lost. So we need to make it incredibly easy for them to become un-lost.

Why don’t we have a national database of impounded dogs and cats, accessible online by the public, to which it is made mandatory for all pounds and shelters who impound, to upload a photo and basic description of every single pet?

Surely with the evolution of the interwebs (not too many shelters wouldn’t have access to a computer and digital camera now), this would be pretty straight forward, if all groups were dedicated to returning pets to their rightful owners as they claim to be.

Not the occasional, sometimes updated ‘found pet’ list buried somewhere in a council website (if the pet travelled two councils to the left and one up? How is anyone supposed to know?). Not the efforts of a shelter who’s taking pets from a number of councils, but leave it to the public to guess which ones.

But a mandatory, centralised database which sees every impounded pet have its photo taken and uploaded to a single website.

If pets aren’t impounded immediately (spending some time running or staying with a carer), then a saved database search can allow the owner of the pet to be notified when it finally does make their way to the pound.

With the new trend towards ’super pounds’ which take animals kms away from where they were collected, we must make the effort to also build into the system easy ways for people to find their lost animal. If groups are going to take money for a council contract, they must be made offer a minimum level of service to pet owners.

And in 2010, a picture on the web should be considered indispensable.

I’ve blogged about Bill Bruce and the City of Calgary before, but this video although nearly two hours long, is a must see, as every word of it is pure genuis.

Bill Bruce is the Director of Animal and Bylaw Services at the City of Calgary, whose animal control department has achieved a +90% level of dog licencing compliance. Using the revenue from pet registrations they are able to run an open admission, self-funding shelter which saves 82% of cats and 94% of dogs… and they’ve done it without mandatory desexing, without breed specific legislation and without pet number limit laws.

Recognising that animal management’s core business is “returning pets to owners” and calling its dog licences ‘a ticket home’, if a pet is found wandering in Calgary and is registered, it will be taken home without being impounded. Calgary’s phenomenal success comes from offering a high level of service to pet owners who in turn see licensing as something of value to them and their pets.

However, it didn’t start off this way. Originally the city adopted the popular ‘heavy-handed, enforcement’ model. With extensive policing they were able to get dog licencing compliance up to around 80% but, forced to hammer people each renewal year to get them to comply, it was expensive and hard to maintain.

Understanding people

Calgary now works with it community, rather than trying to punish it into compliance. They key, says Bill Bruce, is studying people;

90% of people, sometimes 95%, will comply with things they agree with, understand and feel consulted on.

Less than 30% of us ‘do what we’re told’

The goal is to achieve that level of voluntary compliance where people willingly licencing their dog. You’re not chasing it, you’re becoming more efficient, your revenue is up and then you can invest those dollars back into service that ads value, not investing in chasing people down.

By engaging pet owners whose pet has escaped in a dialogue about why it happened, future problems can be avoided. And with dogs going straight home rather than be impounded, shelter overcrowding is reduced.

Making it easy for people

The advantages to near universally registered dog population are obvious;

- Enables animal services to quickly reunite missing pets with their owners
- Identifies that a lost animal has a caregiver
- A licenced animal is only one phone call away from going home.

Without pet limit laws, breed specific laws and mandatory desexing Calgary removed hurdles to compliance with licencing and the need for people to ‘hide’ their dogs and cats from the city. They also make it easy to register a pet and keep it registered – renewals sent out annually and can be paid online, in person or through a 24hr payment telephone hotline. They also follow up on non-payments with a friendly phonecall from their office.

Supporting responsible ownership

They have 138 off-leash areas, patrolled by animal management officers on bikes spruiking responsible pet ownership – even giving out free dog pooh bags! Through this positive dialogue with owners, they are able to take on the role of educator; correcting myths and removing misconceptions about animal control. This engagement has helped develop ’social capital’ which sees the whole community care about animal welfare, helped them develop into knowledgeable pet owners and become “partners in compliance”.

Positivity and positive re-enforcement

Instead of putting money from licencing into government coffers (just another tax) it is spent on caring for pets in the community. The revenue stream from dog licences covers the $4.2 million dollar operating budget of the shelter. While funds from their new cat licencing program (which deliberately excludes unowned cats, allowing for TNR), are being put towards a community vet clinic which will offer free pet desexing for those who can’t afford the surgery (an estimated 8,000 – 10,000 surgeries per year). People like the idea that their money is going to help less fortunate pets and want to support the program and they are at 45% compliance without any enforcement of the cat licencing program (they simply can’t process any more applications).

They use positive media to tell their community that they are doing a great job “you guys are the most responsible guys anywhere!”, focusing on the excellent statistics the community have achieved.

The staff in the animal control department at the City of Calgary are happy and enjoy coming to work because they’re having success. The change in public perception from ‘dog catcher’ to ‘community support’ has removed barriers between the department and their community. Instead of stray animals being killed (and compassionate people keeping lost pets, rather than dropping them at the shelter) Calgary proudly promotes the fact their shelter is low kill, because so many animals go home.

The animal control process

If the pet can’t be taken straight home it will be delivered to the shelter. A photo of the pet is up on the website 15 mins after arrival, helping owners to locate their lost pet. Convenient opening hours help owners collect their animals

Having a good income stream from pet registrations, means great resources in the shelter. Excellent ventilation and individual cat kennels ensure flu isn’t spread and a high tech waste management system has meant no parvo outbreaks. Calgary boasts that the shelter has no smell, is very quiet and the animals are relaxed. Dangerous dog management kennels allow dogs to be moved without poles.

If an animal is not collected, its desexed vaccinated and moved out of the shelter to an off-site adoption centre.

Dogs with issues (slight dog aggression, food aggression or whom need to recover from surgery), go to specially trained foster homes who help rehabilitate the pet. They have 220 of these homes.

Feral cats are managed by a group who has ’secret’ colonies and carers. Dogs who are aggressive go to a sanctuary. The breeders of purebred animals are contacted to see if they can take the pet for rehoming.

Calgary also work with all stakeholders in the community, including local humane societies and cat rescue/TNR groups. By sharing the load, focusing on each groups strengths and sharing the successes, a truly compassionate animal control system has been created, with an emphasis on saving every life.

How can your community have the same level of success?

You must watch this video

Even with a machine gun question and answer session at the end of his talk, not once does Bill Bruce lose his passion for the positive. He believes he has the answer. And judging by his results, he may just be right.

Open for adoptions of course!

NHS Open for Pet Adoptions on New Year’s Day

On Friday, January 1, Nevada Humane Society will be open for adoptions from 11am to 5pm. In celebration of the new year, the first people who adopt a pet in 2010 will receive special prizes and recognition on our website, both for the first dog adoption and first cat adoption. Come by and enjoy a glass of sparkling apple cider and toast to the new year.

Last year, Nevada Humane Society was open on New Year’s Day for the first time ever and 49 pets found loving homes that day in just 6 hours! Help us spread the word to find loving homes for these deserving orphaned pets in the shelter.
http://www.nevadahumanesociety.org/

Unfortunately this is a US shelter. Does anyone know of any Australian ones that open on New Years Day?

In a great evolution of thinking, rescue groups are now moving away from blaming pet owners for poor shelter performance and and punishing the community by providing ugly shelters with hostile staff, towards a new customer-centric attitude.

These community focused approaches lead not only to literally hundreds of thousands of dollars worth free advertising and donations, but most importantly they save lives.

From the Daily Telegraph:

Ugly animal shelters are driving away potential new owners for dumped and stray animals, forcing the euthanasia of thousands each year, according to the RSPCA.

But now the animal welfare group is fighting back with a radical shift from the traditional large-scale shelter format by launching a retail outlet to compete with customer-friendly commercial pet stores.

The shop at Rouse Hill town centre, in Sydney’s booming northwest, is a direct response to record animal euthanasia rates, with about 20,000 animals put down in NSW last financial year – a number the RSPCA said is “way too high”.

The 135-year-old organisation admitted the format of their existing shelters was part of the problem, driving potential customers away and carrying a stigma that if an animal is in a shelter there must be something wrong with it.

“There’s a proportion of the public who won’t come into one of our shelters because their impression is they’re depressing and noisy,” RSPCA NSW CEO Steve Coleman said. “This new concept will certainly be very different in look and feel.”

The store, to open in December, aims to meet the festive season surge in unwanted pets, many put down because shelters and foster carers are overwhelmed.

A similar article appeared in the Noosa News, except this is one step even better with the project packing the complete flexibility that comes from a ‘mobile adoption van’.

How much is that cute doggy in the amazing, animal-friendly wagon – both with the waggly tails?

That could well be the begging pleas of children at every school fair and community flea market on the Coast now that Noosa has launched the RSPCA’s The Road Home Program, a sort of “pets on wheels” painted in animal murals.

Thanks to the Bendigo Community Bank branches at Cooroy, Tewantin and Marcoola, the RSPCA has a new drive to find homes for animals on the Sunshine Coast.

RSPCA Queensland chief executive Mark Townend described The Road Home adoption outreach program as breaking new ground in animal welfare.

“Our aim has always been to re-home as many animals as possible,” he said at Noosa Marina on Friday.

The shelter animals can now be taken out into the community and offered for adoption in animal friendly environments such as exhibitions and show days, council parks and outdoor centres.

Offsite adoption is even more effective as, having shaken off the idea ‘if someone isn’t willing to drive across town, they won’t be a good owner’ <false>, this group is able to use existing resources like pet events to promote homeless animals the wider community.

What’s more; nearly any rescue group – not just one with a budget of millions – could have a van like this.

Are you thinking ‘outside the shelter’? If not, why not?

PetRescue Team’s video diary from the NDN here: http://bit.ly/18xq76 about 5 hours ago from Tweetie

Last tweet from #NDN: Like a little kid whose been to the show I’m overexcited & exhausted. What an amazing event! Thanks to all@ the AWL! 12:59 PM Oct 2nd from Tweetie

#NDN: Nathan’s TNR preso was facinating! But the major cat group manager’s have opted not to show. Are new ideas really that intimidating?11:34 AM Oct 2nd from Tweetie

#NDN: you will never find 1,000 volunteers to help you kill. But you can win the hearts of thousands of cat lovers if you ask them to help trap, desex and care for their community cats..10:04 AM Oct 2nd from Tweetie

#NDN: Since implementing community wide TNR program in 2001, NJ Animal Control has achieved an 80% drop in nusiance complaints.9:57 AM Oct 2nd from Tweetie

#NDN: its our movement’s job to lead the way in humane cat solutions even if the largest animal welfare organisations don’t support them9:52 AM Oct 2nd from Tweetie

#NDN: tradtional shelter designs overestimate the risk of disease & fighting & underestimate the risks of undersocialisation & frustration8:32 AM Oct 2nd from Tweetie

#NDN: why pounds should give pb’s to breed rescue – because it frees up a kennel & a mix gets adopted from you instead, saving two lives.8:17 AM Oct 2nd from Tweetie

#NDN: Many shelters open weekdays 9am-5pm. If you want to adopt more you need to be open evenings & weekends when families are able to visit7:56 AM Oct 2nd from Tweetie

#NDN: Rangers must door knock around where the pet was collected, cross check with lost reports photograph & upload lost pets to the web7:35 AM Oct 2nd from Tweetie

#NDN; The public have no idea how lost pets behave. Shelters need to provide better information on how to search for a lost pet.7:29 AM Oct 2nd from Tweetie

#NDN: Why does one pound seek out rescue groups to take its animals, while another refuses to work with the community and kills instead?7:14 AM Oct 2nd from Tweetie

#NDN: Nathan W asks: why does one shelter send thousands of animals every year into foster care while another chooses to kill these animals?7:11 AM Oct 2nd from Tweetie

RT @Desexing: Two days jam packed with motivated, successful, inspirational & amazingly dedicated people! Here comes the change Australia!5:51 AM Oct 2nd from Tweetie

Thank dog for Hound TV! The guys have done an extrodinary job capturing the NDN. Follow them @houndtv5:48 AM Oct 2nd from Tweetie

RT @jb_petrescue: Mike Arms – “We are a BUSINESS. We are in the business of saving lives.” Hell yeah!3:10 PM Oct 1st from Tweetie

Tnx!:) RT @Desexing: “Woohoo. Nice presentation Shel and the PetRescue gang, I feel more awake now than I have in the last two days..buzzzz”3:07 PM Oct 1st from Tweetie

#NDN: Tim from Pet Foster gave an amazing presentation of how foster carers save lives…2:45 PM Oct 1st from Tweetie

#NDN: back to blaming and bashing the public “if only we had a law” No shelter ever got to no kill by being an adversary to their community8:56 AM Oct 1st from Tweetie

#NDN: lols @jb_petrescue: RT “brilliant to be here! New man crush on Nathan Winograd.”8:52 AM Oct 1st from Tweetie

#NDN: Cat desexing vouchers have enormous success in the Mt Alexander Shire. Kitten intakes down to <10 per month.8:04 AM Oct 1st from Tweetie

#NDN: Sutherland Shire speaking on their no kill programs, healthy cat condos & volunteer programs. Local gvt having huge success!7:48 AM Oct 1st from Tweetie

#NDN; City of Bunbury on their supportive cat owner programs. “Helping disadvantaged owners to have a desexed, M/C’ed cat”. Fantastic!7:44 AM Oct 1st from Tweetie

#NDN: Nathan W opened with ‘the lifesaving matrix’ excellent, lots of heads nodding along7:38 AM Oct 1st from Tweetie

AWL QLD speaking on ‘Getting to Zero’: ask surrendering owners to care for their litters of kittens until they’re 8 wks old.3:37 PM Sep 30th from Tweetie

#NDN: Nathan W brought the house down with his extrodinary presentation – No Kill comes to Australia!3:21 PM Sep 30th from Tweetie

#NDN: If strays are primarily unowned cats, then strategies to reduce cat shelter admissions by targeting owners will have a limited effect1:45 PM Sep 30th from Tweetie

#NDN: huge round of applause for Michael Linke, RSPCA ACT as his org saves 93% dogs & 72% cats11:55 AM Sep 30th from Tweetie

#NDN; all speakers coming back 2 compulsory M/C *sighs* Can’t we skip the things that have never worked anywhere & move onto things that do?10:00 AM Sep 30th from Tweetie

#NDN QLD pet owner survey: 93.5% cat owners have desexed their pet, without legislation!8:23 AM Sep 30th from Tweetie

#NDN Mike Arms presenting; don’t take ‘hard to place’ pets onto tv – take the cutest & most adoptable & get people into your shelter…7:52 AM Sep 30th from Tweetie

I got to hug Nathan Winograd!!!! @ the NDN conference! W00t!7:36 AM Sep 30th from Tweetie

RT @Desexing: NDN Summit Registration starts at 8:00am on Wednesday morning. See you there! Follow http://twitter.com/Desexing5:46 PM Sep 28th from web

+ PetRescue’s video diary!

You’ve seen Macy, a black Labrador, on the web after trawling for possible candidates to join your family. You send an email letting the group know you think you’re a great adoption prospect, you’re keen to meet Macy and you’d like to find out how to proceed.

Which would you like to get back as a response?

Macy has gone to a home.

or

Hi Alex,

Thanks so much for your email! Macy already has a home, but there are always way too many labbies looking for great new families, so there can never be too many sensational homes on offer.

Many of the labs are rehomed before they make it to PetRescue, so when you are ready to adopt give us a call (phone). Even though we may not have a suitable labbie listed, it’s possible that we have one in care getting ready for adoption, so it never hurts to ask. Generally our girls rehome faster than our boys so I would encourage you not to write off a beautifully natured boy. By the time you get to meet one of our labs they will have lived here with us in a social environment with our own dogs and other fosters for a number of weeks so we have a pretty good idea of their personalities.

Thanks again for your mail. I should probably highlight that without people like you who are willing to adopt one of these great dogs and give them a second chance, we couldn’t continue to rescue – they can’t all live with us! We get to meet some fabulous people and we are always incredibly grateful to the families who adopt our labbies.

Anyway, it was lovely to receive your message and hopefully we can help find you a fabulous lab to join your family.

Thanks again for your interest and I hope to meet you in the coming weeks.

Kind Regards
Amanda

Now this email is from 4lablovers and I wouldn’t be the slightest bit suprised if Amanda and her team go on to take over the world. Everything about this email screams friendly, rescue professional and who wouldn’t want to deal with someone who sends them an email like this!

However, the process of answering emails can be a mammoth task; intimidating, frustrating and with dozens, if not hundreds coming in each week, they can eat away at the morale of everybody in your organisation if they turn ugly because you’re behind in your responses. But it doesn’t have to be that way. If you’re lost for words, try these tips to make your emails sing!

Five tips for super great email

1. Accept that people WILL email you

Just because you prefer to chat on the phone, doesn’t mean your adopters aren’t going to make their first enquiry via email. Recognise the value in these enquiries and incorporate ‘email management’ in your rescue’s growth strategy.


2. Know who I am

It doesn’t take a lot of work to address someone by their name and people love the personal touch. Given that this person is a potential adopter, volunteer or supporter, it’s a small extra effort for possibly enormous rewards.


3. Get some killer templates

You will no doubt be answering the same type of email again and again… and again. You’re going to need some really well written templates to save you time. Find someone on your team or a volunteer who is good with words and ask them to answer your most common emails – then use them as a basis for future responses. Work to build up a library of ‘good emails’ that everyone in your organisation can use.


4. Remember this is only the first date

Worrying about suitability, or screening in your first email enquiry is a bit like deciding to marry me based on this blog post. Tone and body language is missing over email, so the message seems harsher than is likely intended. Even if the adopter has said something ‘wrong’ in their response, you have no indication whether this was a naive faux pas in an otherwise good candidate or how open they are to you coaching them to be a better pet owner. Be overwhelmingly positive and look to encourage a second round of discussion before you start making decisions about their suitability.


5. Be a gratious host

No matter how bad a day you’ve had, this person is a brand new chance to get a good result. Answer their email in a timely fashion and thank them for contacting you – more than once. If it’s really a medium you hate, or it’s eating into your day, set a volunteer up with your templates and get them answering these initial enquiries, passing the ‘hard’ ones on. Share the load.


Email is an important tool in the arsenal of the modern rescuer – the way you use it, can either advance or damage your message. Take the time show them some love and you’ll quickly find your emails not only serve your organisation, but are a powerful tool for converting early enquiries into devoted evangelists.

For years rescue has seen the public as the problem, not part of the solution.

However, modern rescuers realise that the way to reduce the number of pets killed in shelters isn’t by criticising, browbeating or coercive laws; but calling on the community to support rescues and save a life.

When a family, excited by the concept of adopting at the local shelter, is given the third degree and is made feel defensive and inadequate, what should be a happy experience can turn into an ordeal. If the place they visit is dirty, loud, or not children friendly, then they naturallly turn to other places like pet shops; the very places we beg people not to support.

Thankfully, more groups are realising that providing a great client experience is essential to an effective rehoming program. Introducing the RSPCA NSW Care Centre:

Shelters aren’t always the most customer friendly environments. Many people avoid going to shelters because they find it too emotional. Instead, they go to pet shops or breeders. There is also a perception that if an animal is at a shelter, there is something wrong with the animal.

The RSPCA Care Centre at Rouse Hill is a shelter outreach facility that includes an adoption centre and outpatient veterinary clinic. Its main aims are to rehome more animals in a welfare friendly environment and educate the community about responsible pet ownership.

The goals of the RSPCA Care Centre:

* Decrease euthanasia and increase adoptions
* Promote responsible pet ownership through education
* Provide expert advice that is accurate and in keeping with our policies
* Provide a service that is of the highest standards for both Animal Welfare and Customer Service

But what if you haven’t got the budget to build a rehoming centre? How do you get your animals in front of the families you need to adopt them?

Why not check out the PetRescue and PETstock In-store Adoption Program

The in-store events allow people to meet and greet rescue dogs and exclaim ‘but they’re just like, you know, dogs…’

Exactly.

If you would like to be part of the program, drop PetRescue a line