--- title: "Adoption Follow-Up Checklist for Shelters and Rescues" description: "A practical adoption follow-up checklist: who contacts the adopter and when, what to ask, how to record the answers, and what happens if the placement is not working." canonical: https://www.whiskermatch.com/resources/adoption-follow-up-checklist markdown_url: https://www.whiskermatch.com/resources/adoption-follow-up-checklist.md generated_from: "canonical page server-rendered HTML; the HTML page is authoritative" last_modified: 2026-10-03 last_updated: 2026-10-03 publisher: "Veldarium Technology Systems LLC" --- 1. [Home](https://www.whiskermatch.com/) 2. [Resources](https://www.whiskermatch.com/resources) 3. Adoption follow-up checklist Shelter operations resource # Adoption follow-up checklist Decide before the adoption happens who will check in afterward, what they will ask, and where the answers are written down. Follow-up is often the first thing dropped when intake gets busy. This checklist makes it a named task with an owner instead of a good intention. [Bring one workflow](https://www.whiskermatch.com/contact#bring-one-workflow) 01 ## 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** 02 ## 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** 03 ## 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** 04 ## 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** 05 ## 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** ## Common questions - **How many follow-ups should we do?** There is no single right number. Choose a schedule your team can actually keep, write it down, and keep to it. A smaller schedule that happens is better than a larger one that does not. - **Does this checklist predict whether an adoption will succeed?** No. It helps your team ask consistent questions and record the answers. It does not rate or score adopters or animals. ## Keep reading - [Adoption review handoff checklist](https://www.whiskermatch.com/resources/adoption-review-handoff-checklist) - [Follow-up ownership](https://www.whiskermatch.com/resources/follow-up-ownership) - [Adopter clarification questions](https://www.whiskermatch.com/resources/adopter-clarification-questions) - [adoption application tracking](https://www.whiskermatch.com/pet-adoption-application-tracking) - [All shelter workflow resources](https://www.whiskermatch.com/resources) - [Free printable tools](https://www.whiskermatch.com/tools) Early access, founder-led ## Keep this with the animal record. WhiskerMatch is one record per animal that intake, foster, adoption review, and public profiles share. It starts with one workflow, beside the tools you already use, and a person at your organization makes every decision. $20/month per organization, no seat limits. This is a founder-led early access invitation with no deadline. Writing to ask a question costs nothing and commits you to nothing. [Bring one workflow](https://www.whiskermatch.com/contact#bring-one-workflow) [See pricing](https://www.whiskermatch.com/pricing) Want to look first? [Walk through the guided demo](https://www.whiskermatch.com/demo). --- About WhiskerMatch: WhiskerMatch is workflow software for animal shelters and rescues that keeps one reviewed record per animal across intake, foster care, adoption review and public profiles, with people making every placement and publishing decision. ## Sitemap See the full [WhiskerMatch sitemap](https://www.whiskermatch.com/sitemap.md) for every public page, or [llms.txt](https://www.whiskermatch.com/llms.txt) for a short summary.