Adoption follow-up checklist

Set the plan at adoption

• Tell the adopter that someone will check in, who that person is, and roughly when.
• Confirm the best way to reach the adopter and the days or times that suit them.
• Write the follow-up dates into the record or calendar at the time of adoption, not later.
• Name the staff member or volunteer who owns each follow-up.

Follow-up owner

Planned check-in dates

Questions to ask at a check-in

Open questions get fuller answers than yes or no questions. Write down what the adopter says in their own words.

• How are the first days and weeks going? What has been easier or harder than expected?
• What routines have you settled into, and what is still unsettled?
• Is there anything about the animal you were not told or would have liked to know?
• Has the animal seen a veterinarian yet? Is there any paperwork or record you are still waiting for from us?
• Is there anything we could do to help, or any resource you would like us to point you to?

What the adopter said

Anything we promised to send

Records and paperwork

• Confirm the adopter received the records your organization gives at adoption.
• Confirm any microchip registration or contact update that is part of your process.
• Update the animal's record with the outcome and the date of each follow-up.
• Note anything that would change how a similar animal is described or matched next time.

Records confirmed

Record updated by

If the placement is not working

• Make sure the adopter knows, in plain words, how to contact the organization if they are struggling.
• Offer the resources your organization actually has, and say clearly when it does not have one.
• Describe the return or rehoming process before it is needed, including who decides and what the adopter should do first.
• Record the reason for a return in the adopter's words, so the next profile can be more specific.

Who the adopter calls

Return process owner

Close the loop

• Decide when follow-up is complete and record that date.
• Review the notes monthly for patterns: the same question, the same missing item, the same delay.
• Change one thing in the adoption process based on what the follow-ups show.

Follow-up complete on

One change to make