MEET & GREET: Matchmaking in

Action

What is a Meet & Greet (MNG)?

An introduction of a shelter animal to an interested customer that is performed by either:

• Staff• Trained volunteers

• Orange Dot Approval Needed

What is a Meet & Greet (MNG)?

Process for Adopters:

• Everyone 18yrs and older signs a waiver

• Adopters walk through available animals

• Return to the front counter with animal names

• Complete adoption survey BEFORE meeting any animals

• Meet animals

Process for Volunteers:

• Read Adoption Survey/Make sure no one is in line for that animal

• Talk customers through process/availability of animal once put away

• View kennel card/research memos

• Take the animal and people to a designated meeting place

• Watch person and animal engage/develop a rapport

• Provide education and guidance• Recommend other

animals to consider

What’s included?

Spay/Neuter

Vaccinations (age appropriate)

Heartworm Test (dogs)

FIV/FeLV/HW Test (cats)

Microchip

De-worming

Up to date Flea prevention and HW prevention

Starter bag of Science Diet Food

30 days of 24PetWatch Pet Health Insurance***

Fees:Kittens (4 mos & under): $150Puppies (4 mos & under): $300

Cats: $45Dogs: $125

HIPP (High Profile Pets): $300Second adoption: Half off

Bonded pairs: 2-for-1Animals age 8+ years: Half off

ALWAYS discuss what’s available in the retail store!

Guiding the Meet and Greet• Know the animal (memos, paperwork, ask around)• Make the customer feel comfortable!• Bringing children into a meet and greet: Safety• Review survey, use it as a starting point for

conversation and match making• Offer suggestions on behaviors, training and other

animals that are a good fit. • Make adopters fell like you are on their side • Keep adopters off the defense by asking open

ended questions• Take advantage of this opportunity to educate!

Tips During the Meet and Greet

Make sure the room hastreats and toys!

MATCH MAKING

What are their needs for a great

match?

Does anyone in the family have allergies?

What trait do they think is most important?

A. Kid AppropriateB. Exercise NeedsC. Training requirementsD. EnergyE. IntelligenceF. AffectionG. Grooming Requirements

Do they want a social or independent pet?

Getting a Feel for Adopters• By asking open ended questions you should be able to start to get a

feel for your adopters

• Does their housing situation work for the animal they are looking at?

• Fencing, landlord, using a kennel, outside living, long work hours

• Are they willing to work with particular behavior traits of that animal?

• Green Flags: open minded, willing to listen, open to suggestions

• Yellow Flags: kids, other animals, schedules, training

• Red Flags: outside living or questionable living conditions, wanting to breed, abuse, unwillingness to listen to education, not home very much, surrendered an animal before,

• Stop the meet and greet if you witness a customer being rough with an animal or an animal acting inappropriately,

• If a D2D is needed, put away the shelter dog and then get two qualified staff/volunteers that can do the D2D.

Getting a Feel for Adopters• OBSERVE! What types of behaviors do the animal and adopter show?

• How does the animal act towards the adopter?

• How does the adopter act towards the animal?

• Get a second opinion

• If adopters ask questions you can’t answer, maybe other staff or volunteer may know. Such as is the dog housetrained or do they ride well in a car.

• Talk about other animals that ARE good candidates

• Focusing on finding the right match does not mean you have to say “yes” to an adoption. It does mean you need to say “yes” to adopting out an animal that would be a good fit.

• You can say “this dog isn’t a good match because _________________, let me show you some dogs that would be”.

• Be on the adopters side, let them get the feeling that you are there to HELP both them and the animals by trying to place animals in the right situation.

Education• Once a match is made, and sometimes before, you are

focusing on educating the adopters about behaviors and needs of that animal.

• Education should sound informative and not a lecture due to a judgement you have made.

• “I see you are having troubles with your dog pulling on the leash, let me show you some options I have tried with success” as opposed to “Prong collars are awful, you should use and easy walk harness”.

• Once again, use open ended questions to find out what you need to target with further education

Education

• Pit Bull Adoptions• Check for a breed ban (remember

county bans, city bans, apartment bans, housing association bans, insurance bans)

• Call the landlord since bully breeds are often banned. We really should make sure this is ok.

• Educate on dog parks but let the adopters know it is their decision to take a pit bull there.

• Educate on possible dog to dog issues (reactiveness, rough play) and the importance of slow intros

Education• Shy and Fearful dogs

• Talk about importance of understanding these dogs are a high flight risk. • Fitting a collar and harness properly

• Talk about the importance of being aware of transition areas such as doorways and getting in and out of cars.

• Low and slow introductions to new people

• How to handle having new people in the home

• Secure fencing

• Importance of bonding before letting a dog free roam

• Keeping microchip info up to date/considering a GPS collar

Education

• Deemed Dangerous Dog• Independence: if deemed dangerous it can not

go to Blue Springs or Grain valley either• Lee’s Summit is case by case on allowing them to

live there. • Make sure to ready WHY the dog is deemed

dangerous and talk to staff and volunteers about the circumstances

Education

• Using the preferred collars and harnesses we advocate for• Use this opportunity to tell your own stories about

what has worked for you or you have seen working keeping in mind Great Plains philosophies.

• Let adopters know many trainers and owners use different options

• Show them how to fit and easy walk

Education• Alpha roles: that theory has been debunked. Refocus on

how we train here which is based on positive reinforcement.• Slow Introductions at Home: Pack walks, crate and

rotate, keeping one leash on, having an air horn or hose around

• Resource Guarding: How to combat this using redirection and positive training. Focusing on impulse control activities.

• Food/treat/toy aggression: How to combat this using leave it and trade up.

• Separation anxiety: Having a consistent routing, using a crate

• Barrier aggression: Leash work, keeping dog from having access to the front glass door.

Education• Combatting the “know it alls”

• Talk about your experiences after listening and being empathetic to their experiences.

• Discuss how shelter dogs can differ from “owned” dogs

• Pull in a person from the behavior team to support your educational stand points

• Let adopters know that we have specific information that is important they listen to if they want to make the adoption of the dog successful. Make them feel that this is an added bonus as opposed to a mandatory lecture.

• Help them understand how the situation might differ from what they are speaking about

• Don’t get angry or upset, try an not take things personally

Education• Cat issues

• Declawing• Providing scratching surfaces, using soft Claws and

trimming nails is our preferred method of stopping scratching

• Free Roam• Indoor/outdoor• Introductions to other

animals/humans/environments• Litter box issues• Calming items: Diffusers, collars, spraysBecoming a MNG for Orange Dots: Contact Meagan Hundley

Suggested Resources for the Public

Zak George you tube

Positive reinforcement training

Impulse control games

Sophia Yin books

Patricia McConnell

www.gpbehavior.weebly.com

NEXT STEPS• Reason to place a hold:

• Landlord approval• Dog-2-Dog• Getting the house ready

• Holds:• $20 for available animals• $50 for Early-Bird Holds on strays*Does

not guarantee animal will be made available*

• Holds animal until close the following day

• Non-refundable• Non-transferable

NEXT STEPS• ADOPTION!

• Fill out the orange card usuallylocated at the front desk.

• Place animal back into kennel and hold card on kennel.

• Escort person to the front desk• Alert counter person you have an

adoptive family awaiting counseling • Return animal’s paperwork if you previously

retrieved it• Inform adopter of wait time (how many families

ahead of them)• Thank them!

NEXT STEPS

• What if an adoptions isn’t made?• THANK them for coming out!!!

• Let them know we move new animals over every day and to keep checking with us – Website

After Meet and Greet Notes:

Pet Point Memos: Communication!