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Below you'll find answers to common questions about The Shelter Pet Project. Please click the links below or scroll down to learn more.
Petfinder questions
My shelter doesn't post to Petfinder; what can we do?
Campaign research showed that Petfinder is by far the most heavily visited pet adoption site and therefore would be the most successful online tool for people to find adoptable pets. If you are using shelter software that doesn't allow you to currently upload to Petfinder, please contact your shelter software company about this problem. All organizations are encouraged to start posting to Petfinder to enjoy the full benefits of The Shelter Pet Project.
In the meantime, recruit one or more volunteers to manually upload animals to Petfinder—it's important to keep your listings current, so make sure those assigned to this task have time for regular updates! And if you can't spare the time to upload all of your animals to Petfinder, consider posting just a few dogs and cats each week. Aim for attracting adopters to your shelter where they can meet all the amazing animals in need of homes!
We advertise our animals on Petfinder, but they don't show up in the "Pet Personals" section of The Shelter Pet Project website. Why is this happening and how can I fix it?
The reason for this is most likely that when you registered on Petfinder you opted out of exporting your data to third parties. Go into your Petfinder account and be sure that you have checked the box that says "Allow Pet List Export To Partner Sites"—so your pets benefit from this powerful opportunity.
About the ads
Why were the featured animals selected?
Of the three TV PSAs, each features one animal: a cat (DMH), a scruffy terrier mix, and a Boston terrier. These ads will run for one year and then there will be two additional rounds of three ads each. These pets are trained animal actors who live with their trainers as companions.
Will the campaign feature pit bulls?
We're hopeful about including a pit bull, and/or bully breed/pit mix in future campaign materials.
Is the campaign just about dogs and cats, or will it include other animals that come into shelters, like birds and rabbits?
Of course shelters receive a variety of animals, but the initial focus of the campaign is on dogs and cats because they represent the largest numbers of animals entering shelters.
Getting the message out
What can I do to get the message out in the community?
To help shelters maximize the exposure of the campaign, we've provided a free campaign toolkit to download. Whether you're new to working with local reporters or an experienced media mogul, the toolkit can help by providing campaign details, talking points for interviews, and tips on pitching the campaign to local news outlets.
Can the TV PSAs be localized?
Even though the TV PSAs cannot be customized to provide local information, you can help to ensure that they're aired locally. For more details, download the free campaign toolkit with campaign talking points and tips for getting your local stations to participate.
How can our state federation or local coalition help?
With all of the attention that The Shelter Pet Project will be bringing to pet adoption, it's an extremely important time for adoption agencies to work together. State federations and other large groups can help to make sure that every organization within their state is aware of The Shelter Pet Project and has all of the necessary information and tools to prepare. Within local coalitions, it's essential for different groups to stay in contact with each other to maximize adoption opportunities through local events and outreach.
Shelter specifics
How can our shelter use this campaign in our community?
The campaign will be driving people to your doorstep. The most important thing you can do is provide a positive adoption experience for the increased number of potential adopters who will be contacting and visiting your shelter. The HSUS has provided a collection of customer service and adoption resources for shelters to use to ensure policies and procedures are up-to-date and effective.
How can my shelter join The Shelter Pet Project? How much does it cost?
There is no cost to enjoy the benefits of The Shelter Pet Project. All animal adoption organizations are a part of it. The Humane Society of the United States and Maddie's Fund sponsored the campaign which is designed to benefit adoption agencies and homeless pets across the U.S.
Can you explain the research numbers/statistics?
Of 71 million pet-owning households in the U.S., only about 20% report to have adopted their pet from an animal shelter. Approximately 4 million dogs and cats are adopted from shelters each year, which averages out to 2-3 adoptions per shelter per day (of course this is a national average and will vary widely between organizations). If we can increase this average to 5 adoptions per shelter per day, we can drastically reduce the euthanasia of healthy/adoptable shelter animals.
The people who are going to get us there are "swing voters." These people are planning on getting a pet, but they haven't decided where to acquire their new animal. They are neither committed nor opposed to adopting from a shelter. There are 17 million of these people and we only need to convince 25% of them to adopt to close the gap.
More Information
Where can I get more information about the campaign?
For background on the campaign, please read Animal Sheltering magazine's overview of the campaign and download our slideshow presentation.
How can I get additional resources to prepare my organization for an influx of new adopters?
You'll find a wealth of information on all kinds of animal care topics in our Resource Library.
The Shelter Pet Project is a campaign of:
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