Pawnder

In-person shelter adoption is a traditional method of finding a new pet. Within shelters, animals are typically secured in individual stalls or cages where visitors can walk around, browse, and choose which animals to adopt. This creates an environment where people can get to know potential adoptees in person, interact with multiple animals, and discover pets that mesh with their personality. While this provides a good approach for some, it may be overwhelming or discouraging for others seeking to adopt. Although shelter design is not our primary focus for this project, it is something that we have paid close attention to during our observations and research. We believe that shelter design significantly impacts the success of the adoption process, regardless of whether our target users begin their journey in-person or online.

For our initial observations, our group planned visits to two animal shelters, LifeLine Midtown and Furkids Midtown. While there are various shelters in Atlanta, which we intend to explore throughout this project, we decided to start with LifeLine (shown in the image below), as it is the largest animal welfare organization in Georgia and cares for 40,000 animals annually (People - Lifeline Animal Project: Our Team, 2023)

Pet adoption websites are another important system in the pet adoption process. For instance, there are third-party websites that aggregate information from various sources to show adoptable pets in the user’s area. All the animal shelters we observed also maintained dedicated websites to showcase animals available for adoption. These shelter websites, such as lifelineanimal.org, are fairly simple to navigate and allow for the user to search broadly or refine their search based on characteristics such as age, size, species, and more. This provides a convenient method to quickly identify animals that meet the owner’s needs and lifestyle.

Another benefit of online pet profiles is that they can be curated to display the animal’s best qualities. Shelters can use pictures and carefully chosen keywords to emphasize particular characteristics for potential adopters. While this information may sometimes go unnoticed, some studies have delved deeper into analyzing the words and attributes on adoption websites that influence adoption speed. Zadeh et al. (2022) highlights that “pet characteristics such as age, breed, quantity, and sterilization status are key factors that influence adoption speed” (p. 1). Shelters have the opportunity to leverage this data to maximize adoptions through their websites.

While adoption websites are a great place to begin a search, they offer limited information about the animals and cannot fully replace in-person interactions. The data provided on these websites may rely on volunteers’ limited interactions with the numerous animals in their care. Animal shelters are often run with limited resources, and creating online animal profiles is just one of many tasks that have to be completed. Consequently, information may not always be up-to-date, sections may be left incomplete, and the profile may not be the best representation of the animal. Ultimately, potential owners will eventually need to meet the animal in-person to see if they are a good fit. During this interaction, there is a possibility that they may decide not to adopt. This decision may stem from various reasons, such as the animal not meeting their expectations, not aligning with its description, or simply due to a change of mind on the part of the potential owner.

Nextdoor is a neighborhood-oriented social media platform used for posting and discussing current events and community information. It is frequently used to post about animals, including missing pets, animals for sale, and those available for adoption. Individuals often post about dogs that are up for adoption, whether they are their own pets, animals known through personal connections, or on behalf of organizations. Nextdoor reaches a wide audience and is a great way of creating exposure in these situations. Even those who may not be actively searching for a pet may stumble upon these posts and discover that they are open to adopting an animal.

One of Nextdoor’s advantages lies in the sense of trust and community it fosters among its members. Nextdoor members must be verified either through a postcard to their address or through a referral from another neighbor. This verification process reduces the likelihood of scams and enhances the perceived accuracy of the information shared on the platform.

Even with all the benefits of a neighborly community, however, there are still some aspects that make this platform not the most suitable for animal adoptions. Individuals posting on Nextdoor about their own animals or animals they know of may not be entirely informed about the animal or adoption process, even if their intentions are well-meaning. As a result, those adopting through Nextdoor may not be receiving the most accurate information and may be making life-changing decisions based on the perspective of a stranger.  Unlike shelter adoptions, which typically involve a thorough screening process, applications, and expert guidance, Nextdoor adoptions are primarily at the discretion of the individuals involved. Adopters may be unprepared for the responsibilities that come with pet ownership and requirements for their specific breed.

Throughout our research, we have observed that social media platforms are also a place often used to post pets for adoption. People may post to their individual audiences, on online marketplaces, or within groups for specific interests. For this critique, we will be specifically focusing on Facebook.

Similarly to Nextdoor, Facebook does provide the benefit of reaching a wide audience. When individuals share adoption posts with their personal network, they benefit from addressing a more trusted and familiar group compared to the general public. Their network is more likely to view them as trustworthy sources, fostering a higher level of comfort among potential adopters.

However, outside of personal connections, there are limited benefits to using social media platforms for pet adoptions. As a result, this may be one of the less secure ways of adopting a pet, as animals may be posted with little to no context or information. When posts come from unknown connections, such as those within public Facebook groups, they may not be deemed trustworthy sources. There is also the risk that people may post dogs for sale that originate from unethical breeding practices, leaving potential adopters unaware of the situations they might be entering into.

Finally, word of mouth is still a very common method for adopting pets. Even in our group, several members shared instances of successful adoptions resulting from word of mouth. Often, a friend of a friend, relative, or acquaintance may know of a pet that has given birth, and they may be trying to give away the litter. Similar to interactions on Nextdoor and Facebook, word-of-mouth adoptions benefit from the presence of a trusted connection or individual within a network, which enhances the perceived reliability of the adoption process.

While less so than with other methods, this system also has its limitations. Again, people offering pets for adoption may not be aware of the responsibilities associated with pet adoption. They may have just found the animals and  lack insight into their needs or the time commitment required to care for them.