What should I do if a potential adopter wants to know why the pet they’re interested in adopting is featured on petsmartcharities.org but is no longer available at my shelter?
- When a pet is adopted from your organization, please remove them from Adopt-a-Pet.com immediately.
- If a potential adopter reaches out PetSmart Charities or PetSmart about a pet profile that is inaccurate, or if the pet is no longer available, they will be encouraged to reach out to the adoption partner directly.
Do you have any tips for adding pets to my Adopt-a-Pet.com account?
While adding a pet to your Adopt-a-Pet.com account is fast and easy, here are a few tips that can make the process even simpler.
- Have all of the pet’s information accessible.
- Some fields are required for the pet to be listed so make sure to have the pet name, breed, sex, age, and weight at the very minimum.
- Write the pet’s story ahead of time.
- The story field on the pet listing page is small and this can make it difficult to see the entire story once you start writing it. Adopt-a-Pet.com recommends that you type the pet’s story in a Word or Google document beforehand and then copy and paste the bio into the Adopt-a-Pet.com field. This will allow you to check spelling and grammar errors prior to adding the pet bio to the pet listing on Adopt-a-Pet.com. You can also use Adopt-a-Pet.com’s pet description templates if you want to reuse the pet story on multiple pets.
- Have your photos ready on your desktop or laptop.
- If you are taking photos with your phone, email these to yourself and have them saved in a folder that you can easily find when you go to add the pet’s photo. Adopt-a-Pet.com recommends that you save the photos by the pet name and add the number 1 through 4 afterward so that you know in which order you want to upload the photo. The first photo uploaded will be the photo on the thumbnail in all of the searches and in the New Pet Alert email sent by Adopt-a-Pet.com.
Do you have any tips for writing adoptable pet stories?
- Be clear about the adoption fee.
- One of the most frequent questions asked by potential adopters is “what is the adoption fee?” Adding the adoption fee to the pets listing or to the pet’s story can help ensure you are getting inquiries from potential adopters that are prepared to pay your adoption fee.
- Provide the pet’s age and size.
- Other common questions from potential adopters are about the pet’s age and weight. If you know the pet’s date of birth, Adopt-a-Pet.com recommends you include that in the pet’s story along with the pet’s weight. This is especially important for dogs since it can be hard to tell the difference between a 25-pound and a 50-pound dog by just a photo.
- Be clear and concise.
- Keep the pet’s story to a length that keeps the attention of the reader. Remember to include the important details around personality and physical attributes. If the pet’s story is too long, a potential adopter may lose interest. If you want to include information about your adoption process, instead of including this in each pet’s story, this can be added directly into your shelter/rescue info which is then displayed on every pet profile.
Can you show me how to add, update, or remove my pets from Adopt-a-Pet.com?
- Please watch this short instructional video provided by Adopt-a-Pet.com.
How do I make sure that my pets are uploaded to the petsmartcharities.org and petsmart.com websites?
- Please watch this short instructional video provided by Adopt-a-Pet.com.
Is it possible to auto-upload my pets from my sheltering software to Adopt-a-Pet.com?
- Auto-uploading from your animal sheltering software is possible and it can save you lots of time. The first upload, as with all auto-uploading, will permanently erase all the pets on your account (available, adopted, hidden) and replace them with available only. Please click here for more information.
How do I know if my organization’s sheltering software is compatible with Adopt-a-Pet.com?
- Please click here for a list of compatible animal sheltering software providers.
I am getting an error message when try to auto-upload my pets to Adopt-a-Pet.com.
- Please click here to view Adopt-a-Pet.com’s “10-step how-to guide” for fixing auto-upload errors.
How long does it take for my pets to show up on Adopt-a-Pet.com after an auto-upload?
- When you add a new pet or make a change to a current pet in your animal sheltering software, the next time your software auto-uploads, your changes will show up. On average, it takes a couple of hours. Please click here to learn more.
Where can I find additional Adopt-a-Pet.com resources?
Please visit the Adopt-a-Pet.com Help Center Library for additional resources.
Adoption Partner Disclaimer:
Your use of the Adopt-a-pet.com website is subject to and governed by the terms and conditions, if any, contained thereon. Neither PetSmart nor PetSmart Charities endorses such website, nor takes any responsibility for your use of such website or the services provided thereon. We recommend that you review the terms and conditions and privacy policy of such website.
