Speaking with enquirers
Getting to know the family interested in your pet will help to make you feel confident that you’re selecting the right home for them.
Open and honest conversation is the best way to communicate. It gives you a chance to share all about your pet, and the enquirers the opportunity to explain why they would like to adopt.
If you’re not too sure where to start when opening the conversation lines, here are some great places to begin:
- Tell them how ‘Fluffy’ came in to your life
- Share the best things about ‘Fluffy’ with them
- Let them know some of the not-so-great things that ‘Fluffy’ may do (let’s be honest, we’ve all got some qualities like this!)
- Ask them what drew them to enquire about ‘Fluffy’
- Chat about pets that they’ve had before
- Tell them about ‘Fluffy’s’ favourite things in life. It may be that they are beach lovers too, or are partial to an arvo snooze on the couch as well.
Meet & greet
When you’re ready for the next step, a meet and greet is often arranged so the enquirer can interact with your pet.
Meeting your dog:
- Invite other members of their household to come along
- Try your best to stay calm and relaxed, as your pet can sense your feelings
- Encourage everyone to get down to the dogs level when first meeting
- Make slow introductions, allowing time for pre-sniffing (of humans and other pets!)
- Provide some delicious treats that the enquirers can feed to your dog
- If your dog likes toys, let them spend some time playing with the enquirers
Dogs meeting other dogs
Remember, not all dogs are going to be best friends at first. If they are tolerating each other at this point then that's a good start. With a willing and patient adopter, managing a slow introduction at home can still be okay!
Resources:
Introducing dogs to each other
Meeting your cat:
- Invite other members of their household to come along
- Try your best to stay calm and relaxed, as your pet can sense your feelings
- Put the cat/s in an enclosed room to prevent you all from running around the house
- Supply some toys such as feather sticks to entice the cat to come and play
- Let the enquirers feed the cat some special treats to encourage some connection
- If your cat is shy, take a video before the meet and greet showing them feeling comfortable. Often shy cats can spend the meet and greet hiding. Being able to show the enquirers what they are like when new people aren’t around can be reassuring for all.
Remember, it’s ok if it doesn’t go to plan! Call it a day and wrap up the meet and greet. Make note of what happened and update your pet’s profile for future enquirers.