Once again, I'd like to thank all of you for the huge outpouring of support about the loss of our dog Cami. I've received so many sympathy cards and emails, it's been incredible. You all are the BEST!
Anyway, in much happier news, although we're still missing Cami a lot, we are in the process of adopting another white dog. Our house is doggie nirvana and we are experienced dog owners who have a lot of love to share.
I haven't actually adopted a dog in ten years. I know a lot more about rescue than I did then, and working with rescues as an adopter (i.e. from "the other side") has been interesting, so I thought I'd share some impressions.
1. Petfinder is awesome. I love, love, LOVE Petfinder. But their new search tool stinks. Now there's no way to say from the outset, "only show me female dogs" like you could in the past. Also the "email me when an animal matching my criteria comes online" feature doesn't seem to work. Because of my radio show, I tend to be on the site a lot, and I ran across a dog that should have been emailed to me based on my criteria.
2. Email has limitations. In communicating with rescues, I've had great response time on the initial contact. I've heard from other people that isn't always the case, so I was really pleased to see such speedy responses to initial email queries! As I've harped on before, simply responding to potential adopters quickly is an easy first step to getting your critters adopted. Customer service really matters. However, I found that when I asked questions, I didn't always receive complete answers. I understand that people in rescue are busy, but when you're dealing with someone who is really committed to adding a new family member, don't be too terse in your responses. If your volunteers are not great communicators via email, I recommend a tips booklet from a colleague of mine called 110 Tips for Sending Email That Gets Read and Gets Results. For example, tip # 61 is "Be sure you are not being so concise that you seem abrupt."
3. FAQ pages are great. Some of the questions I had could easily have been included in an FAQ page on the rescue Web site. (Many rescues do have FAQ pages, but some weren't particularly comprehensive.) For example, if your animals are on Petfinder, one of the first questions you're likely to get is, "Do you adopt outside your local area." If the answer is yes, you should include FAQ information on how you handle transport or home visits. If you get any question more than once, put it on your FAQ page. People surfing Petfinder are already online, after all. If they follow the link to your site, give them as much information as you can.
4. Share the story. When I'm surfing Petfinder, I find it really sad when all a rescue can come up with is "spayed and up to date on shots." That's just lame. Every animal up there has a story. People LOVE stories, and I'm no exception. Petfinder is a giant advertising medium. The most effective ads evoke emotion. It doesn't have to be a sob story either. Maybe you don't know the animal's history at all, but you do know that Greta loves to play with her Kong. Say so!
5. Let people know what's next in your adoption process. Let's face it, I'm more savvy than the average person trying to adopt through a rescue. Set up procedures so adopters aren't left wondering what happens next. Is the animal put on hold? Do we have to schedule a home visit? And so on. The sequence of events is another thing that can be included on your Web site.
Anyway, that's my report from the field. You can think of me as your "secret shopper" ;-)