Maricopa County Animal Care and Control has debuted a browser-based mobile app to give new pet owners easier access to medical records, shelter-recommended services and expert advice around the clock.
Kim Powell with the agency said the goal is to help pets and their new families adjust to each other, stay together and reduce some of the inflow for already-overwhelmed Valley shelters.
“We are really hoping that this adoption app will reduce adoption returns because sometimes it is too overwhelming,” said Powell. “And people return a dog without letting them truly shine in the home first.”
The browser-based app is already available to new dog parents, which she said is meant to be an all-in-one resource.
Like for when, she said, in the first few weeks, “maybe they're going potty on the floor or they chew up a couch cushion or, you know, something like that. You might see a little bit more of their personality coming out. And then three months is when they're. Really like, ‘OK, I know the routine. This is my house and this is my owner.’”
Powell said they currently see about 8% of adopted dogs returned.
“Typically, what we've been doing in the past is you give us the email and then we'll send you a big adoption packet and it goes to you later in the night after you've already been home. This will be instant within about 60 seconds when you're still standing at the adoption counter that you're going to get this link and you can immediately start going through the resources and get everything ready to go for your new pet.
But other shelters using Petszel have reduced pet returns by 20% to 30% alone.
“We are really hoping that this adoption app will reduce adoption returns because sometimes it is too overwhelming,” said Powell. “And people return a dog without letting them truly shine in the home first.”
The app is free, requires no downloads and works on any device.
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