Organization

When running an animal shelter organization is key. You won't notice it though until you suffer from lack of it. At the humane society where I volunteer there were two dogs adopted on Saturday. Two dogs adopted is awesome, but how it happened was so much. Two different families showed interest in Lulu, the lab mix puppy. The family that wanted her first went home to get their dog and test the two of them together. When they got back the second family had signed the papers and paid the fee and Lulu was theirs.

The first family that missed out on adopting Lulu wrote down their name and phone number in case another puppy came in. Then a different volunteer rekindled their interest in another dog, Tina. She was a medium sized dog with pinto colorings and short hair. Unfortunately a third family was already talking to another volunteer about adopting Tina. An argument ensued between the volunteers who where talking to the two different families and one family had its hopes of a second dog dashed twice.

Both instances could have been avoided through better organization and communication. I have suggested that an authority person be established so that whenever a family or person becomes interested in a dog they must inform the authority person. This way that one person would know exactly who was interested in a dog and who was in the position to make the first decision. Also a clear list of required materials that an adopter needs to have as well as make it known to everyone who comes in to adopt an animal exactly what must be done to secure the animal they one.