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  #1  
Old June 15th, 2005, 11:29 PM
gruegoo gruegoo is offline
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Suggestion for Rescue Organizations - Standard Adoption Forms

Hi,

I'm in the process of trying to find a dog to adopt, and I've noticed something... its a lot of repetitive "paperwork".

So I was thinking, is there any way to come up with a standard adoption application and eventually have all the rescue organizations use it? That way potential adopters can fill out the form once, then just save a copy and email it out when they need it again. I'm personally filling out more or less the same information over and over again, using a different application form for every single rescue I contact. The best part is, the dogs are usually adopted by the time I apply, but that's another story

I'm just worried that people might just get fed up with it and be turned off to rescuing a dog. One application is fine, but try filling out 10 with the same info, about 15 mins each. So if there was a standard form... would anyone use it? I'd be happy to design the form myself (I'm a graphic designer) but there's no point unless people will start using it.

Thoughts?
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  #2  
Old June 16th, 2005, 06:20 AM
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BMDLuver BMDLuver is offline
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Good concept but each rescue etc... has their own guidelines and not all applications are thorough enough. Most rescues "tweek" their applications a few times in a year as the need for changes becomes apparent after say a home visit, a phone conversation etc.

What you might not have thought of is that you may apply for a specific dog and it's in the process of adoption however, they might have a new one inbound who would suit your needs to a T. So although it seems fruitless when applying for a dog that you find is already gone and a bit discouraging, you never can tell what a rescue has in the wings.
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  #3  
Old June 16th, 2005, 10:11 AM
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raingirl raingirl is offline
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I know the frusteration! Trust me! I applied for so many dogs before we got one! The one we got, his application was 11 pages long!!!
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  #4  
Old June 16th, 2005, 10:32 AM
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jessi76 jessi76 is offline
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same thing happened to us, I spent time filling out app's, providing references, family and pet history, just to find out that the dog I was interested in had been adopted long ago - or the shelter/rescue never contacted me at all - it was maddening. The last one I filled out (for my new pup) had a comment line at the end... out of sheer frustration I wrote, "at this point, I'm beginning to think it's easier to adopt a CHILD than a dog" They called me within an hour. Contacted my vet and personal references that day. Approved me the following day. The day after that we were driving home with Tucker.

of course, he was well worth all the time, effort, and aggrevation.
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  #5  
Old June 16th, 2005, 11:42 AM
gruegoo gruegoo is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by BMDLuver
Good concept but each rescue etc... has their own guidelines and not all applications are thorough enough. Most rescues "tweek" their applications a few times in a year as the need for changes becomes apparent after say a home visit, a phone conversation etc.

In that case, how about a basic standard form that covers all the main, common questions, and then each rescue can have a secondary form with more uncommon or specific questions? That would still cut down paperwork by 80% (i'm guessing).

Also, by having a thorough basic form, all rescue applications would be brought up to a standard, and it would make the adoption process two tiered, in that the basic form would show off any major red flags, etc, and the rescue wouldn't have to bother with them.

It IS frustrating to have to deal with so many different application forms, and quite frankly, if I hadn't been educated about BYB's already, I would have just given up and gone to one. I'm sure there are others who actually did go and buy a puppy due to frustrations in the adoption process. That's why I think it should be made as smooth as possible. In other words, show how adoption is the better way and thereby steal people away from BYB's in order to better educate them.
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  #6  
Old June 20th, 2005, 10:37 PM
mrmilo mrmilo is offline
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Thank you so much for posting these sugguestions. It really does make a lot of sense and one of the ways to make this happen is to get rescues to work together. I am going to raise this issue with several rescue groups that I know and see if we can't get something started.

I think the idea of a generic form for the basic information and a secondary form for each rescue is a great idea.
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  #7  
Old June 20th, 2005, 10:58 PM
gruegoo gruegoo is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by mrmilo
Thank you so much for posting these sugguestions. It really does make a lot of sense and one of the ways to make this happen is to get rescues to work together. I am going to raise this issue with several rescue groups that I know and see if we can't get something started.

I think the idea of a generic form for the basic information and a secondary form for each rescue is a great idea.

If you need any help designing the forms, just PM me.
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