Running an animal shelter is a labor of love. It doesn't matter if you save 1 or 100 animals - you're making a difference. But that doesn't mean it's easy. The logistics list is endless, from juggling the animal's care to managing adoptions.
You're not alone if you can relate to the everyday challenges in animal shelters below. Here's a look at the hurdles many shelters face and how you can overcome them with the right management tools.
Top 5 Challenges in Animal Rescue Management
Managing Pet Health and Medical Records
Shelters have to keep track of detailed information for every animal that walks through its doors. Just like us, our four-legged friends have unique medical needs and requirements. Many shelters need help keeping everything organized, like medical history, vaccination schedules, behavioral notes, or future treatment plans.
Finding Fosters and Adopters
Connecting animals with the right foster or furever family is arguably one of the biggest roadblocks. Screening applicants and talking to potential adopters is time-consuming but necessary to make sure each pet is matched with a family that meets their needs.
Funding and Donations
Running an animal shelter is pricey. Pet food, medical care, staff salaries, and general maintenance add up quickly. Many shelters rely heavily on donations to continue to do the best for the animals in their care.
Support for Staff and Volunteers
Working or volunteering with animals in need takes a special kind of person. These caretakers are the backbone of your shelter, but the emotional and physical demands can take a toll.
Day-to-Day Life at the Shelter
Every day at an animal rescue is different. Shelters need to keep up with daily tasks, like feeding, cleaning, and vet visits, while always being prepared for an unexpected arrival or emergency.
Software Can Help How You Manage Your Animal Shelter
What if there was a better way to run an animal rescue? PawPlacer is an affordable animal shelter and rescue management software. This all-in-one platform manages animal profiles, adoptions, fosters, medical records, and more.
If you're struggling with managing your animal shelter or think there has to be a smarter way to operate, here's how to use animal rescue software to overcome common shelter challenges:
- Create detailed profiles for every pet in your care on PawPlacer. Include medical records, foster history, and adoption status while tracking vaccinations, appointments, and behavioral notes.
- Track vaccinations, medications, and vet visits with automated reminders.
- Create and monitor tasks for each animal.
- Use customizable drag-and-drop task boards with tagging and progress tracking to streamline daily operations.
- Maintain detailed profiles of the humans you consider potential fosters or adopters.
- Use the app to track donations and adoption records or set suggested donation amounts. (PawPlacer doesn't take a single penny of your donations or adoption fees).
What Are the Current Pet Adoption Rates?
Aside from the daily logistics of running a pet shelter, the main goal is, of course, finding homes for these animals. Pet adoption rates have increased, which is great news for shelters.
In 2023, U.S. shelters welcomed about 6.5 million cats and dogs, and more than 60% found homes. 2.6 million cats and 2.2 million dogs were adopted in 2023 source. Trends are showing more people are open to giving shelter pets a second chance, rather than buying a pet from a breeder. As a shelter owner, you can build on this momentum by hosting adoption events, advertising on social media, or partnering with local businesses.
Additionally, PawPlacer helps make the adoption process easy. Instead of juggling endless paperwork, shelter staff can create detailed profiles for every pet, track adoption applications, and keep records for adopters and fosters.
Getting Started
There is no better feeling than finding a loving home for an animal. PawPlacer is here to take the pressure off. We help shelters manage pet profiles, track medical records, organize foster and adoption processes, and even easily handle donations and fees.
Are you ready? Start managing your animal rescue today.
Additional Resources
Are you facing other challenges in animal shelters? Check out some additional resources below to help you run a successful pet shelter:
- Population Management in Animal Shelters - ASPCApro