Adoption: Follow-up Matters More Than the Questionnaire

There are usually two sides to debates about adoption: one says animal welfare groups are too strict, the other says they're still not strict enough. I see the solution in something a little different.

I understand animal welfare advocates' fears. I understand why they ask for long questionnaires, why they hold multi-round "interviews," why they tie adoption to strict conditions on who can adopt a dog and what kind — but unfortunately this also rules out a lot of good potential owners. Take me, for example: most shelters would rule me out too. I've been renting for 20 years, and landlords don't allow dogs in a rental. And yet I always have dogs, always rescued dogs, and they move with me every time I move. I understand that many people return a dog with the excuse that they can't bring it to the new rental, but how many are there, like me, who make it work no matter what? Many shelters also rule out older people, because what happens "if they die before the dog does." I could get hit by a bus tomorrow, or have a stroke — I have no guarantee that at 40 I'll last until a puppy grows up and grows old.

Instead of upfront screening, I'd look to follow-up as the solution. The proof of the pudding is in the eating. A questionnaire can be filled out however people think it should sound, and putting your best foot forward isn't hard during a personal meeting either. But if a dog isn't being cared for well, it shows — in its condition, in how it moves, if it's being mistreated or neglected, and also if it hasn't bonded with its owner.

What if every animal were adopted out with a six-month trial period? During the trial period, the animal welfare organization could visit at any pre-arranged time, check the living conditions, and if everything is fine, issue a certificate after six months: the dog belongs to the owner for good. It's the same as a probation period at a job, or when a couple moves in together before marriage to try out whether it works. Six months is enough to clearly show whether it does or doesn't.

I'd have an idea for older adopters too: anyone over 65 should bring along someone under 60 who acts as a "guarantor" — if the older owner can no longer care for the animal for any reason, the "guarantor" takes over. I even know an older person who, the moment they took in a dog, wrote into their will who would look after the animal afterward.

If animal welfare organizations don't have the capacity for enough visits, maybe some reliable, repeat volunteers could help with this too. I know it's easy to have opinions from the sidelines, but maybe this way more animals could make it from shelters to good owners.