Adoption Listing Rules
When making an adoption listing for an animal who needs a home, please:
- Use the template below
- Include contact information
- Add photos
- Update the animal's story often
- Screen potential adopters
- Charge an adoption fee (mandatory)
- Specify where you are donating the fee (for people giving up their own pets)
1. Use this template to provide basic info:
- Animal Name :
- City/Location :
- Breed :
- Sex :
- Spayed / Neutered :
- Age :
- Size :
- Health status/ vaccinations :
- Behaviour/Personality :
- Rescue story :
- Adoption fee :
* REHOMING YOUR PET? Add this line:
- Adoption fee will be donated to __________.
Make sure your Private Message (PM) and email notification settings are turned on in your profile if you wish to be notified through this board.
Edit your PM and email settings here.
This is a public board which non-members have access to. Non-members do not have access to user profiles, so it is recommended that you save your email addresses/ telephone numbers there instead of posting it publicly.
Edit your user profile here.
3. Add photos!
Including several good, clear photos is the best way to get others to fall in love. The animals who are adopted the quickest are often the ones with the best pictures. The first photo added as an attachment to the first post will appear as a thumbnail image in the listing.
Read instructions and pet photography tips.
4. Tell the animal's story & update often
Giving basic info is not enough to make adoption ads stand out. In addition to having great photos, the most successful ads are updated frequently and give current information and stories about the pet's likes & dislikes, health, and adoption status. Even a quick "still looking for a home" is enough to let people know that an animal is still available and will generate new interest in an older post.
TIP: Update the original post to keep the current information at the top. Don't make potential adopters wade through multiple posts.
UPDATING:
Threads with no updates in 3 weeks will be deleted in order to keep the forum current. To reactivate a thread that has been removed, contact the administrator.
COMPLETED ADOPTIONS: Please update a final post with Adopted! once the animal has found a home. The administrator will move the thread to the Completed Adoptions section.
5. Screen potential adopters
Screening is an essential part of placing animals in a forever home. Please screen potential adopters thoroughly to ensure that the animal and person make a good match, and that the person is committed to taking care of the animal for the duration of the pet's life. Have potential adopters read the
How to Adopt
page & fill out the
Pet Adoption Application
(or something similar). More resources with screening tips can be found
here.
If caretakers have any questions about screening, feel free to post in the
Fostering Forum
and/or contact
Annie
for assistance.
6. Charge an adoption fee
"Free pet" ads are not allowed on ARK. Charging an adoption fee is mandatory. The minimum fee required for dogs and cats is 50,000 won, for rabbits W20,000, to be paid directly to the animal caregiver. **Adoption fees are not collected by ARK.
50,000 won is a minimum fee. If the pet has already been spayed/neutered, for example, the adoption fee would be more. If your adoption listing is created without specifying an appropriate adoption fee it will not be approved.
7. Specify where you are donating the fee
People using ARK to rehome their own pets are asked to donate the adoption fee in order to support the animal rescue cause, which is the main mission of this site. The How to Help page lists some options to choose from. Please specify your choice in the first post of your listing, otherwise your ad will not be approved. **Donations are not collected by ARK.
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Why "free pet" ads are not allowed on ARK
Although we know you have the best intentions for finding a good home for this pet, we do not believe giving animals away for free is a good way to do this. Charging an adoption fee is mandatory for rescuers as well as people rehoming their pets. Here's why.
Adoption fees...
- Help ensure adopters are committed
Charging an adoption fee, in addition to using a Pet Adoption Application, helps to ensure that an animal is going to the best possible home with people committed to paying for proper, lifelong care including good quality food, vaccinations, medical fees, future travel costs, etc.
- Help screen out impulse decision-makers
Adopters unwilling or unable to pay an adoption fee may not be aware of all the costs associated with responsible pet care. This often leads to problems later on when people are unprepared to cover these expenses and instead choose to abandon their pet.
- Help screen out people with bad intentions
Charging a fee helps prevent an animal from ending up in a lab for experimentation or a dog meat restaurant. Some people make money by finding free animals (strays or give-aways) and then selling them. It isn't profitable if they have to pay an adoption fee. (See more links on this topic).
- Reimburse some rescue costs
People who rescue and rehabilitate sick, injured, and homeless animals do so out of love. Adoption fees generally don't come close to what volunteers pay out of pocket for vaccinations, medicines, etc. However, a fee helps reimburse a small percentage of these costs and enables rescuers to help other animals.
- Show that pets have value
When an animal is given away for free, the message sent is that he/she is either worthless or that the "owner" just wants to get this "problem" off their hands as quickly as possible. We do not share this mentality. Our goal is not to place animals as quickly as possible, but to find the best person or family to match their needs. Someone who can promise them a permanent, loving home -for life.
More About Screening
Animal Rescue Korea.org is not involved in the screening process of either animals or adopters. It is the responsibility of the caretaker and potential adopter to screen each other thoroughly. If caretakers have any questions about how to screen, feel free to post in the
Fostering Forum
and/or contact veteran animal rescuer
Annie
for assistance.
Please screen potential adopters carefully to help ensure that both the animal and the adopter are suitably matched for life! People who understand the costs and responsibilities of caring for an animal will understand your efforts. Read:
If you're not comfortable screening, ask for help in the Fostering Forum.
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Last updated August 18, 2010.
Author: Karen Busch
