Thursday, February 02, 2006
If we only had a crystal ball.
We chat with our adopters after the adoption, usually many times. We like to keep in touch to ensure any problems are addressed quickly before they become unmanageable. We document our conversations in our shelter software system so as to keep a nice trail.Here is an example of what we, unfortunately, have seen at times:
24hr Call Back: Doing great. No problems. Loves everyone. Slept with son. Explained the importance of using crate and not leaving child unattended with dog so soon.
1 week Call Back: New name is Spot. Great dog. Just perfect. Not using crate anymore. Explained again purpose of the crate and how it was still necessary to avoid problems like housebreaking, destruction of property, dominance, etc. at the one month mark.
1 month Call Back: Still doing well. Using doggie door to go in and out. Barking some at neighbor's dog. Doing some digging in yard, but said they didn't mind. Reminded client about training classes.
Client contact, a few days later: Returning dog today. Dog is destructive, loud, knocks over the son, pees in the house, has ruined the backyard, torn down the drapes, ripped up the couch. They can't take it anymore and don't think anything can help.
If we only had a crystal ball...
