# Rescues following up on adoptions?



## Hilary (Apr 12, 2005)

Are there any rescues that have any formal follow up with adopters after the fosters move to their new homes - besides the follow up that foster parents do? VGSR is looking into ways to better help us keep track of our dogs after they are adopted and I thought this web board would be a great place to start. We'd prefer not to reinvent the wheel!

Thanks.


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## dbailey (Apr 16, 2008)

The rescue I got my girl from never checked up on her, haven't heard anything from them.


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## Jazy's mom (Jan 5, 2004)

I am still a very small rescue and only have a dozen or so fosters that have been adopted out, so I don't really have anything formal in place. I do try and call the adopters every few months and see how things are going. 

I have thought about putting together an email distribution list of all the adopters, so I could send out a monthly email / newsletter. My hope would be that the adopters would send in pics and stories about their adopted dogs to add to the newsletter.


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## oregongsdr111 (Nov 20, 2005)

We have a spread sheet that all adoptions go on.
It lists the phone number, e-mail, owner name, date adopted, dates the follow ups happen, and a comment section.

We follow up after 24 hours / two weeks / three months / one year / and once a year after that.
As the inventory has gotten larger, we have assigned it as a job responsibility. 


From one year on we do it mostly through e-mail. We ask for a photo of the dog with the family, every year. If we do not get one we let the folks know we will be doing the follow up home visit they acknowledged on the contract.

Most folks are happy to send us the e-mail and photos. They like to brag on how the dog is doing. 

The date we call / e-mail is logged on the spread sheet.

I then copy the information to the dogs individule file with any comments made. It has been helpful as we were able to figure out that three littermates we got from a Washington Shelter all have similar health issues going on.


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## lheberg3 (Jun 18, 2008)

I am a volunteer and foster for Big Dogs, Big Hearts Rescue. Seeing as this is my first post, please bear with me!

We follow up with adoptions usually on the second day, after the first week and then typically about once a month after that. We encourage all fosters to keep in contact with all of their “families.” We love pictures and follow-ups. We do all of this through either phone or e-mail. 

There has even been a few times where fosters have been adopted out and the families requested some help. A handful of our volunteers have gone directly to homes to help with any problems, and also to offer suggestions. We make sure that when the dog is adopted that the family is aware that we always have an open line of communication available and that if they need anything we are there to help. On a few occasions I have actually “doggie sat” a few of my fosters while their families have gone out of town, or on vacation.

We also love and encourage all of our families to bring the fosters to our Meet and Greet if and when they are able. It not only is a way for us to get to see them again and to catch up, but this also can help with continued socialization of the dog!


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## Hilary (Apr 12, 2005)

Thanks. This is very helpful information. Do you have your fosters do the early follow up and then have a single person to the outlier follow up?

When you find similar health issues, for instance with the littermates, do you then share it with the other adopters of the litter?


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## oregongsdr111 (Nov 20, 2005)

We actually have a member of the rescue do all the follow ups.
If the adopter has specific questions we hook the foster back up with them.

If we obtain any health or behavior knowledge that adopters should know we pass it along via e-mail, or a call if it is urgent.

With our pups the owners wanted to talk to each other, so we passed along each others info.

I copied the general process from the County Shelter I used to work at, and made it work for us.


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## Timber1 (May 19, 2007)

Hillary, our rescue does follow up a bit, but mostly from the folks that adopted a rescue dog. Of course we require a home nspection. references, etc. We also in most cases require some type of training.

But actually a follow up, no.

So far, so good, because most of the folks that adopt from us keep in touch.


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## Hilary (Apr 12, 2005)

Do you have any standard forms that you use for follow up? Thanks.


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## oregongsdr111 (Nov 20, 2005)

I can no longer get photobucket to work for me. 
If you e-mail me I can attach our current form for you.
[email protected]


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## Hilary (Apr 12, 2005)

Thanks, Paula. I sent you an email.

Hilary


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## southerncharm (Feb 16, 2009)

When I was doing rescue work, I would contact adopters back after 24 hours, 2 weeks, 6 weeks, 6 months, then once a year. I would usually email first, and if I didn't get a response or felt that something seemed off, I would then call. I also would call the vet 1 year later to make sure the adopter has been continuing vet care. Even with all that, I managed to lose complete contact with the last dog I placed. The owner's stopped answering emails, turned off phone, moved, and when I called their vet - they'd never even SEEN the dog!







Needless to say, I still worry every day about that dog. I had gotten references, and done a home visit on this couple, and never would has suspected that they'd disappear and break their adoption agreement. 

I still keep up with the dogs whom I placed on my own, at least once a year I contact their owners for updates.


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