Our Adoption Equation: Applying New Math to an Age Old Problem

March 21, 2006

As the Louisiana SPCA rebuilds, we’re blending the new with the old to help find permanent lifelong homes for the many animals that enter our shelter. It’s a new equation in our program to solve an age old problem.

Everything at the LA/SPCA is new, even our adoption program. The idea of starting over is without a doubt overwhelming, but oftentimes with that comes a fresh start. It’s an opportunity to take some of what worked in the past, define what didn’t, and mix it up with new ideas and fresh concepts. The idea of course is not to change for the sake of change, but rather to look at new concepts that enhance existing ways of doing things toward a greater good.

Finding a permanent home for an animal is frankly one of the most heartbreaking and difficult challenges for every person who works in a shelter environment. Unless you’re a block of ice, you can’t help but be drawn to that one. Whether it’s the Jack Russell Terrier mix who bounces with excitement at the mere suggestion of going for a walk or the 60 pound lab mix that’s a big ole’ lovable goof ultimately, they all grab you. You’ll bolt up from sleep in the middle of the night thinking about the one you’ve grown to love and praying and hoping that he or she will find a home. In fact, you so badly want all of them to find homes that you run the risk of jumping into the arms of the first person that says hello. You think you’ve found their human mate for life, but with no match taking place the animal is returned because the relationship just isn’t working out.

Shelters have come a long way over the years and on Japonica Street we always took the time to get to know the person that wanted to adopt Pilar, Max or Molly. In the past, potential adopters would walk through the shelter, check out all the animals and then come back to us and say “I want that one.” Our adoption counselors would interview the person, obtaining any history and basic knowledge about that person’s past animal experiences and their lifestyle. Based on that interview, we would then approve or deny the adoption.

At our new shelter in Algiers, we still interview potential adopters but we’re employing additional tools and a reverse method to lay a stronger foundation by matching the expectations of a potential pet guardian to a shelter dog based on both the human’s temperament and behavior and the animal’s temperament and behavior. Before people walk through our kennel we determine from specially designed questions their personality. Based on that assessment, the potential guardian is instructed to the one who most closely matches them.

We’ve all heard commercials for the online dating service Match.com that uses 45 personality criteria to match singles with their life mates. Here at LA/SPCA we are working towards implementing  the canine version, Meet Your Match!™ to help people find the best lifelong pet companions. Through a shelter outreach program from the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) and in conjunction with animal behaviorist Dr. Emily Weiss, this adoption program is a multi-faceted approach to improve a shelter dog’s chance of being accepted and welcomed into a home as a new and hopefully permanent family member. In human relationships its accepted knowledge that opposites attract. In the canine-human matchmaking world that’s a big no, no.

So once we determine the potential adopter’s personality, how do we know which dog mirrors that personality? That’s where the other part of equation comes in. Even before someone comes into the shelter to adopt, our staff and animal behaviorist has already been assessing the personalities and behaviors of our resident shelter dogs. Called the Canine-ality Assessment, which works in conjunction with Meet Your Match!™, is a tool designed to provide us with information about the dog’s energy level, motivation, sociability and playfulness. Using this test, we find out that our spunky collie mix “Mickey” is a go-getter, “Sally” our Great Dane is a couch potato, “Max” our pit bull is a free spirit and Rosy” our yellow lab is a constant companion. So when Cindy, a potential adopter learns that her personality type is a free spirit based on the adopter survey, we then invite Cindy into the shelter to meet her free spirit canine counterparts. When lifestyles match, it’s an advantage for both the human and the canine.

The first link in this multifaceted equation however is determining what animals are adoptable based on behavior aggression tests. In January, the Louisiana SPCA brought animal trainer Carolyn Kerner on board. An advocate of clicker training Carolyn is bringing her expertise and skill into assessing our shelter dogs’ behaviors. As we move forward, we are also looking at the SAFER Test, dog evaluation program, which focuses on learned behaviors, sensitivities, and problem solving. This Test provides shelter staff with the ability to evaluate a dog's behavior accurately and efficiently improving the chances that the adopted dog will remain in his new home.

Hopefully, what we get when we add the right person to the right pet is a lifelong match. Our math tells us that the solution to this equation will mean lots of wagging tails and happy families.