Pre-Adoption

PRE-ADOPTION

An effective pre-adoption effort requires a multi-tiered approach involving animal care, behavior assessment and training, and public outreach. From Animal Sheltering magazine articles to guidelines and reproducible ads, these resources will help you bring adopters to your shelter and find the best possible homes for your organization's animals. Please use the links below or scroll down to navigate this page.

	Setting Them Up For Success: Making Animals Better Adoption Candidates
	Shelter Appeal: A People-Friendly Adoption Center
	Bringing in the Public
	Working with Rescue Groups

Setting Them Up For Success: Making Animals Better Adoption Candidates

Training for adoptability: Teaching Manners for Life
Cat enrichment: Feline Good
The Behavior Department: Enriching a Shelter Dog's Experience
The Behavior Department: Basics of Shelter Dog Training
Studying aggression prediction: Assessing the Assessors
Selecting animals for behavior assessment: Assess with Success
Putting Your Behavior Evaluation Program to the Test
Interpreting cat behavior: Seeing the World Through Cat Eyes
A Not-So-Quiet Riot: Shelter Noise Levels and Canine Stress
Evaluating Your Shelter: Are You Ready to Implement a Behavior Program? (Humane Society University)

Shelter Appeal: A People-Friendly Adoption Center
Writing effective cage cards: The 101 Department: Getting to Know You How to Write a Cage Card Quieter Shelter Dogs? It's a Laughing Matter Study investigates "dog appeasing pheromone": The Smell of De-Stress? How to Set Up a Comfy Dog Kennel How to Set Up a Comfy Cat Cage

Bringing in the Public
Low-cost, expert help selling your message: Dwelling on the Positive
	Reproducible Ads
What's With All the Questions? Looking to Adopt a Cat or Dog? Pick up a Mouse The Gift that Keeps on Living Get Adopted by a Cat Are You Seeing Spots? If Not, We Can Help Adopt a Cat Today They May be Seconds, But They're Not Irregulars
	Special Promotions and Events
Barn cats: Buddying Up Holiday Adoptions Rethinking holiday adoption bans: A Puppy for Christmas? Loosening restrictions on holiday adoptions: Santa Claus is Coming to Town… A Humane Society in Michigan Gives Donors Pets for the Holiday...But They're on the Gift Boxes Rather Than in Them Valentine's Day: Chocolates, Cards, Flowers—and Pets, Too? Shelter Speak: Holiday Adoptions
	Taking Better Photos
Digital photography tips: Glam Shots: Using a Digital Camera to Help Animals Show Their Best Sides Photographing animals on your own: Going Solo
	Media/Advertising
Social networking: Q & A: Marketing Change Website development: The "101" Department: Find Your Target Audience Television: 357 Channels and Nothing On? Tune into Your Next Pet Pro bono advertising: You Never Know Until You Ask Bus station ads: The Face That Launched a Thousand Adoptions? Restaurant placemat ads: Shelter Adoptions Served Here Movie ads: Paws on Film Drawing attention to shelter life: Off Leash: An Exercise in Empathy Partnering with a real estate agent: Helping People Buy and Sell Homes—and Putting Pets in Them, Too Animal Shelters Benefit from Oprah Effect Mixed breed dog promotion: Mixed and Fixed: Not Pathetic, Just Pre-Owned! Pop culture: Off Leash: Starring : "Sheba" Longoria and Teri "Scratcher"
	Studies/Surveys
Do Off-Site Adoption Events Encourage Impulse Decisions? Group dynamics: No Strengths in Numbers Effects of failed adoptions: For Better or For Worse? Reptiles and children: To Place or Not to Place?
	Special Promotions for Difficult-to-Place Animals
The Behavior Department: Helping the Scaredycats Free/discounted adoptions: Cat Coupons and Dog Discounts Big dog adoptions: When it Comes to Dogs, Big is Still Beautiful Shy/timid animals: The "101" Department: Highlighting the Wallflowers Senior to senior adoption promotions: Better with Age Other animals Bunny Adoptions: Helping Humans Cohabit with Rabbits Shelter Speak – Adopting Out Reptiles Petsmart and Lollypop Look Out for the Little Guys Little Critters Get Big Advocate Placing reptiles: Weighing in on the Scales Decreasing stress on small animals: Oregon Shelter Makes a Big Change for Small Mammals
	Public Education
Costs of petkeeping: Pets for the Bargain Hunter Behind the statistics: Taking the Public Inside

Working with Rescue Groups

Advantages of working with other animal welfare groups: The "101" Department: Strength in Numbers
Developing shelter-rescue partnerships: Partnership Puzzles
Checklists for better shelter-rescue partnerhsips: Online Extra–Toward A More Perfect Union
Partnering with breed-specific groups: Making Room for Greyhounds
More on shelter-rescue partnerships: A New Breed of Adoption Partner
A Shelter Checklist: Working with Breed-Placement Groups
Terms of Endearment: 12 Ways to Become a Responsible Breed-Placement Partner
A working partnership: TLAC Placement Partners (ASPCA)