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SITE NAVIGATION

Foster An Animal

Adopets Adoption Guide

Foster An Animal

Adopets Adoption Guide

The Front Street Animal Shelter has partnered with Adopets to deliver a paperless adoption management system that helps the shelter adopt more animals faster and keeps track of every available animal in the shelter and in the foster care system.

This system streamlines the entire adoption process by providing interested parties access to apply online, giving foster providers the ability to review applications, having staff approve and finalize adoptions, and allowing adopters to sign the adoption contract and pay for the adoption.

Adoption process for foster animals

Adopets tutorial (using a computer)

Autopets tutorial (using a mobile device)

Frequently asked questions about adoptions

Below are frequently asked questions and answers to guide the shelter's foster care providers through the adoption process:

How can I get my foster on the website and available for adoption?

For foster animals to appear on the website, they need to be fixed (or close to being fixed) and we need to know whether or not the you want them to be listed publicly. Please carefully review the instructions in your surgery reminder email to get your foster listed as available to adopt.

My fosters are fixed. What happens next?

Please carefully follow the instructions on your surgery reminder from the dog or cat foster team. It will contain instructions for letting us know how we should list your animal and how you can view and recommend applications.

How do I adopt my own foster?

Let us know by responding to the surgery reminder email, and we’ll send you a private link to adopt your foster.

I already have an adopter. What do I do?

Let us know by responding to the surgery reminder email, and we’ll send you a private link to send to your adopter.

If I want to adopt my foster or if I have an adopter already, do I need to send in a bio and photos?

No, but you should let us know so we can send you a private link for you or your adopter to use to adopt. That way, the animal doesn’t show up on the website for others to apply in vain.

I don’t want to adopt my foster and I don’t have an adopter lined up. What do I do?

Let us know by responding to the surgery reminder email, and we will list your foster on our website and send you an invite to create an Adopets account so you can review applications and connect directly with adopters.

Why isn’t my foster showing up on the website?

It could be because they aren’t fixed or you haven’t let us know whether you already have an adopter for your animal or if you want it listed publicly.

How long does it take for fosters to be listed on the website once they are fixed?

Usually the day after surgery, our staff enters surgery information and either makes animals available on the website or sends private links to fosters who have found their own adopters. But you need to have followed the instructions on the surgery reminder email to let us know which of these you want. If you don’t follow the instructions and let us know what your plan for your foster is, then the animal’s appearance on the website may be delayed.

Frequently asked questions about Adopets

Below are frequently asked questions and answers about Adopets' features:

I logged into Adopets but my animals aren’t showing up. Why?

Adopets is for managing applications, not animals. So if your foster hasn’t received any applications, nothing will show up in your account. Not to worry – it can take some time! Adopets will also send you an email notification when you get new applications.

Can I add my own photos and bios to my foster’s Adopets profile?

This is not currently a feature. Please follow the instructions in your surgery reminder email to send this information to our staff. For cats, use the foster personality form linked in your surgery reminder email. For dogs, photos and bios can be emailed directly to the dog foster team. It may take a couple days for our staff to get them uploaded.

When do I click on “Recommend Approval” for an application?

You would do this after the meet-and-greet when both you and the adopter have decided they will adopt the animal. Don’t click this until you and the adopter are ready to finalize the adoption.

I clicked on “Recommend Approval." Now what?

A staff member will review the adoption and, in most cases, approve it. This will automatically send an email to your adopter with a link to sign the adoption contract and pay. We try to do this within 24 hours, but it may take longer depending on staffing and holidays.

When can the adopter pick up my foster?

After the adopter signs the adoption contract and pays. Both you and the adopter will get an email letting you know that the adopter can pick up your foster. Assuming the animal is fixed, you can hand it over!

Why is the photo displaying the intake photo instead of the one I sent in?

The most likely reason is that our team hasn’t gotten around to changing the photo yet. Or, the photos weren’t sent according to the instructions in your surgery reminder email.

I think I’m experiencing a glitch or tech support issue. Who do I contact?

Please email the Front Street technical suppport or Adopets technical support.

How can I change the primary photo that appears in the search results?

A staff member would need to change the order of the photos. In general, our staff should be putting the picture they feel is best first. We’d ask that fosters not be overly particular about this unless the animal hasn’t been getting adopted from the original pictures submitted.

How can I upload more photos once my foster is on Adopets?

Ideally, get all of the photos in when you submit the foster personality form so that our staff only needs to upload them once. If you get a great picture later and want to have it added, send it to the Front Street technical support.

Can you upload a video of my foster to Adopets?

Yes! It needs to be uploaded to YouTube first. Once you do that, send us the link. It will give your foster an edge over the competition!

I’m having trouble creating my Adopets for the first time.

Please review the Adopets tutorial videos to see how to log in. Make sure you’re creating your account using the email invite we sent to you.

I don’t see the email invite from Adopets.

Be sure to check all of your email folders/inboxes (spam, junk, bulk, promotions, other, etc.) for the email.

I received an email that says my foster has an interested party and prompts me to log in, but I've never been able to sign in.

You will receive this email if you have been assigned a foster animal by our team. If you can’t log in, that means you never used their invite email to create an account. You should search for that email in all of your email folders/inboxes (including spam, junk, bulk, promotions, other, etc). If you can’t find it, then email the Front Street technical support and we’ll re-send the invite.

In the dashboard, next to my available foster's ID#, there is an icon that appears to be an "i" but when I click on it, nothing happens,. What should be displayed here?

This will be removed shortly. It is an artifact from a previous functionality, so fosters don’t need to worry about it.

I wish there were more questions on the adoption application that would help me screen applicants. Are there plans to update the questions asked to an adopter?

These questions were recently created by our staff and are intended to create a low barrier of entry for adoption. There are relevant questions, such as what other pets are in the household and if there are children, but beyond that, we find most questions to be unnecessarily discriminatory or arbitrary (what they say won’t really affect the final adoption decision anyway). If you think of a question(s) that you feel would be helpful, you can send them to the Front Street technical support for consideration. Otherwise, each foster is likely to have their own particular questions relevant to that animal’s needs and can ask them during the meet-and-greet.

When I went to view my adopter, it showed the person had applications for other animals, some of which had been cancelled. Do I need to worry about that?

Adopets will soon be removing this visibility for fosters, as it isn’t necessary. Applications may have been cancelled for a number of reasons, the most common being that the foster chose someone else to adopt the animal.

I sent the private link to my adopter, but nothing shows in Adopets.

The application will show up as soon as the adopter completes it.

I’m having trouble figuring out what buttons do what. I don’t understand the columns, and when I try to click on certain things, nothing happens.

Please watch the above tutorial videos for an overview of the software and how to use it.

Why is there a “Donation” above the adoption fee?

It is automatically checked to encourage adopters to make a donation. It can be unchecked if they don’t want to donate to our shelter.

Adopets has icons that show where the application is in the adoption process. Some are green and some are yellow. What’s the difference?

Green means completed. Yellow is the next step in the process. Example: If “Approval” is yellow, that means it would be the next step in the process if you approve the adopter. Once a staff member accepts your approval, it will turn green.

The icons show that the contract has been signed, but it shows the checkout is not complete.

That means the adopter has not made payment yet. The adopter should automatically be prompted to make payment immediately after signing the adoption contract.

Why did I receive a couple days after the adopter picked up my foster an email letting me know the adoption was complete? Was I not supposed to give my animal to the adopter?

This will happen when our customer service team finalizes our end of the adoption contract. Nothing to worry about! Adopets will send an email letting you and the adopter know the animal can be exchanged.

My foster has been adopted. Do I need to let all of the other interested parties know that they weren’t selected?

Nope! Adopets automatically sends an email to those who weren’t selected letting them know the animal has been adopted.

If someone passes on my foster or I decide not to accept an application, should I click “Request Decline” in the Actions menu?

You should do this when your foster reaches 5 applications. Once a foster reaches 5 applications, it automatically disappears from our public website. This prevents frustration in adopters, prevents fosters from getting overwhelmed, and gives other animals attention. When you recommend a decline (staff will verify your recommendation), your foster will re-appear on the website until it reaches 5 applications again

Still have questions?

If reading the above FAQs and watching the tutorial videos don't answer your question, or you have suggestions for our adoption process or the Adopets software, please email Front Street technical support or Adopets technical support.

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