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4 organizations bringing adoption to a new level

Are you searching for a pet? Adoption is a great option. Nearly 8 million pets enter animal shelters nationwide every year. Thankfully, people today are adopting pets from shelters at record numbers. Some made the experience easier and more memorable than others by providing something different and reaching a new level of service. The Pet Gazette has compiled a list of some of the most unique pet adoption organizations in the country.

Adopt Online with Adopets

We all see Facebook posts about adoption events, but then you have to go out and wait on a line at all hours of the early morning to get a shot at the fur baby, you fell in love with on your screen. Why not just adopt online?

Adopets, the innovative pet adoption online platform, streamlines the pet adoption process, saving shelters and rescues time, while giving pet parents an easy and fun adoption experience. With a mission to find every shelter pet their forever home, the Adopets platform was designed to connect shelters and rescues with adopters.

In just a few simple steps, potential adopters can create an account for free, where they can access over 280,000 registered animals from 11,000 organizations throughout the country. Users can search for animals in their desired location and view the pet’s description, which includes everything from gender, size, breed, age, as well as a short bio. Pets can be saved to a “favorites” file or the user can apply to adopt and make the adoption fee payment directly to the organization. The applicant will then go under review by the shelter or rescue. Once the applicant is approved, they will be notified via Adopets and will then be contacted by the organization to move forward with the adoption.

Currently, Adopet has animals available for adoption in every state in the U.S. Learn more at: https://www.adopets.org

Rock and Rescue at Motley Zoo

Based in Redmond, Washington, the quirky Motley Zoo Animal Rescue dedicates its work to end pet overpopulation and the resulting euthanization of healthy, adoptable animals due to limited space and funds of animal welfare organizations, as well as working to end abuse and neglect of all animals. They have saved over 2,500 pets in the last decade. Better yet, they have their own beer, a line of merch, and have been featured all over the world for their signature – to name the animals after bands and musicians, then bring the animals to meet the artists.

The Motley Zoo crew is primarily comprised of individuals, connecting via the internet, in their spare time, unpaid, to fulfill their mission to save lives. Another unique aspect? The first of its kind dog daycare and training center to support the rescue’s mission, called Rock Star Treatment Doggy Daycare Studio. The benefits of having an onsite facility are endless, including in person cat adoptions, socializing, the ability to offer training classes to adopters, and to intervene and support when adopters are having trouble. Motley Zoo sends the animals to great homes but are able to see them come back each week to play – which has increased their success rate, and therefore mitigated the number of animals returned. They recently added grooming and in-house boarding as well, all which help to fund their original mission.

Why is adoption so important? According to Jme Thomas, Executive Director of Motley Zoo, “When you buy an animal, an animal in the animal welfare system will die. There are only so many homes and there are not enough to adopt out every animal in need.”

Every year, millions of people go and buy dogs – primarily because of the “pure-bred puppy” myth – people thinking that they need to buy a puppy with papers to get a good family dog. “The reality is this couldn’t be further from the truth. People rely far too heavily on “good breeding” or the choice of breed to pop them out a good grown up dog – without any real understanding of how to “build” a puppy from the ground up and how much of that is dependent upon them, no matter which breed you choose,” says Thomas. “Many people overemphasis the importance of the breed choice and seriously underestimate socialization and training,” Thomas continues. “I want to cry when people tell me they got bought a puppy for $2,500 and can’t afford training, or just as bad, the spay/neuter cost.”

Dogs Day Out – In Paradise

Imagine being able to rent a dog for a day on vacation? You can at the Kauai Humane Society – sort of! In 2013, the Kauai Humane Society launched a program called Shelter Dogs on Field Trips. Through this program, visitors to Kauai Humane Society can take an adoptable dog out of the shelter for a day of fun at one of Kauai’s dog friendly beaches or hiking trails. How cool is that!

It’s super easy – come to the shelter during their pick up hours, let their staff match you with an appropriate field trip buddy, and then off you go! Then you bring your pup back by the designated return time. Your dog fix is taken care of, and you’re doing something good.

The program provides dogs an opportunity for enrichment during their stay at the Kauai Humane Society but also help facilitate adoptions. Since the program launched, more than 300 dogs have been adopted by their field trip “chaperones!”

How to Help Your Foster Find Their Forever Home – Faster!

Foster parents at the Austin Animal Center (AAC) get more than just a foster pet to love and dote on. They get a lesson in marketing. So why are fosters so important?

Megan Marrs, founder of K9 of Mine, a site that offers tips and guides to help dog owners care better for their canine companions, says “When a dog stays with a foster, they end up being so much happier than being stuck in a shelter. Not only that but dogs often behave better in a home than in the stressful shelter environment, which means that when they do meet potential adopters, they present better and are more likely to find a forever home. I’ve seen many troubling behavior issues disappear once a dog is out of the crazy shelter environment and is in a quiet, loving home!”

She adds that fosters also often become huge advocates for their pets. At the Austin Animal Center, they have a whole kit for fosters on how to “market” your pet, with ideas ranging from social media postings to printing out flyers for your foster and putting them up around town. This program has helped countless pets get adopted and find their forever home.

Whether you find your pet in paradise or adopt online, they will be grateful. Don’t miss out on providing a loving home for an animal in need. Visit your local shelter today and see what you can do. You just may find your perfect forever friend waiting for you!