Pets On The Net

Adopting a new pet is a big decision but it doesn’t have to be a hard one. Animal shelters all over Australia are coming up with innovative and easy ways to bring you together with your new best friend. Most of the research can be done on the internet now; many sites like Adoptapet and Pet Rescue are utilising the world wide web to raise awareness and promote adoptions. Pictures of lovable faces are all over these kind of sites and anyone looking for a new pet can easily make that first connection from the convenience of their desktop.

The internet is wonderful way to promote shelters that do not receive government funding. The Animal Aid shelter in Coldstream, Victoria is a non-profit organisation that relies completely on the generosity of the community.

Animal Aid’s Managing Director Nell Thompson spoke about the raising awareness using the internet. “We have always just concentrated on the animals. All the money goes into the animals. All the effort goes into the animals. But we understand that we need to change that. We need to accept that we need to spend money on marketing because that’s the only way we can get the word out. So in January we launched our new website which has been incredibly successful.”

The Coldstream Animal Aid shelter has gone one step further and launched a clever and colourful "Meet your Match™" program. Developed and tested by Animal Behaviourist Dr Emily Weiss, this program matches people’s personalities and expectations to suitable animals within the shelter.

“Initially what happens is when people come into the shelter they are handed one of [our] surveys. That gives us an idea ... what category they fall into – either purple, orange or green, and that indicates to us which sort of dog that they’re after. So they are then given a colour card as to which colour they are, they go out to the kennels and on the dog’s kennel card it’ll indicate which colour they are. So we’re looking for a match. That doesn’t preclude them from adopting something that isn’t their colour, but it just opens up some conversation,” Nell explains.

Staff and volunteers from Animal Aid hope that the "Meet your Match™" program will increase the likeliness of successful and permanent placements. "Meet your Match™" has been designed to link with the SAFER™ (Safety Assessment for Evaluating Re-homing) Assessment which determines the likelihood of aggression and the level of sociability. All dogs that pass this assessment can be confidently re-homed at little to no risk to families. According to the Animal Aid website this science-based program is helping people to make good adoption choices. Each of the dogs listed on the website has their colour affixed to their profile, as well as a link to the explanation of that particular Canine-ality, i.e.: Wallflower, Go-Getter, and Teacher’s Pet. At the present time only the Canine-ality and Puppy-ality adoption programs are in effect, but Animal Aid will be soon implementing the cat equivalent: Feline-ality. For more information on Animal Aid’s "Meet your Match™" program visit their website here.

The RSPCA recognises that choosing the right pet takes a lot of planning, research and time, so they have launched the Adoptapet website, an informative national site that features all of the animals being cared for in RSPCA shelters. This site takes the legwork out of adoption. Once a person has found an animal that they feel a connection towards, they can then contact the relevant shelter and discuss the animal with staff.

The website is updated every 1-3 days and there is also a Seniors Program, an initiative seeking homes for animals older than seven years. The website lists all of the benefits of more mature pets, and it also showcases all of the lovable and friendly faces that are waiting for a new family. The RSPCA website features a helpful FAQ section that answers many questions often posed by potential pet owners, and it arms an individual with as much information about their new pet as they could possibly need.

The Australian Animal Protection Society (AAPS) located in Keysborough, Victoria has also turned to the internet to raise awareness and reach out to prospective pet owners. Their website features numerous large, high quality colour pictures of each animal up for adoption and it lists all of the information that will help searchers decide. All of the forms can be downloaded and completed prior to visiting the shelter, and staff encourages that this information is forwarded to them electronically so that they can begin to match person and pet as soon as possible. For more information on the Keysborough Animal Shelter visit their fantastic site here.

There are dozens of website dedicated to the adoption of homeless animals. Any search engine will direct a person to a myriad of sites within their state, and national sites like Pet Rescue, ASPCA, the Pedigree Adoption Drive, and PetNet are also doing their part to find families for homeless animals all over Australia. The internet has brought the world closer, and it has certainly made the job easier for those that believe these animals deserve a second chance. Choosing and adopting a pet is a big decision, but with an endless source of information at your fingertips, finding that new family member has never been easier.