Lifetime Bonds Created by Meet Your Match Program
Would you choose a friend based on looks alone? Of course not – and you shouldn’t choose your dog that way either.
Finding the right home for each dog means that The Humane Society needs to know something about both the dog and the adopters.
The ASPCA’s Meet Your Match TM program uses the research of applied animal behaviorist Dr. Emily Weiss. Developed with grants from Iams, the program has been successfully put into use in shelters from coast to coast. On March 1, The Humane Society for Tacoma and Pierce County joined these other shelters in using the Meet Your Match program for dog adoptions.
Based on behavior and health assessments by trained staff members, most dogs and puppies are judged adoptable. But, before being put up for adoption, the dogs’ temperaments are assessed. Common traits such as playfulness, sociability, energy level, motivation, manners are looked at and the dogs are coded based on their canine personality or “Canine-ality.” Based on this evaluation, the dogs are sorted into three, color-coded groups:
- Purple – Easy Maintenance
- Orange – Average Maintenance
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Green – High Maintenance
After the assessment, the dogs are put in runs with color-coded cards that show their “Canine-ality” profiles. A separate, but similar, evaluation is done for puppies, to determine their “Puppy-ality” profile.
The other important part of a successful match is the adopter. When people looking for a dog come to the adoption lobby, they complete a simple survey about how they imagine a new dog fitting into their lives. They review their survey with adoption staff and, based on their own survey results, they receive a color-coded guest pass to help them choose a pet well-suited to their lifestyle.
In order to launch this program, The Humane Society’s volunteers and staff received special training from ASPCA staff in reading surveys and looking at canine character. Through examples and role-playing, all of the kennel staff and volunteers gained the necessary practice to start the Meet Your Match program the next day.
The Humane Society for Tacoma and Pierce County hopes that the Meet Your Match program can bring together pets and people for life-long bonds.
