The follow-up procedures used by animal shelters varies among different shelters and is the component of Van Winkle’s Intake, Holding, Adoptions, and Follow-Up Model (IHAF, 2005) that is the most commonly neglected. This study surveyed the current follow-up practices in place among 56 shelters from across the United States and one shelter in Canada.

A total of 57 responses (56 from the U.S. and 1 from Canada) were collected from municipal, private, humane society, and rescue animal shelters from across the country concerning their adoption follow-up practices. Printed surveys asked the following questions (# of shelters responding is shown in parentheses):

• Who does the follow up? Volunteers (21), staff and volunteers (12), staff only (10)
• How many staff/volunteers do follow up? 1 person (5), 2-5 people (26), more than 5 people (9)
• Is there any special training for people who do follow-up? Of the shelters that did do follow-up, 55% had special training while 45% did not.
• How long after adoption do you conduct follow-up checks? 1 week (9), 1-2 weeks (10), 2-3 weeks (7), one month (9), 1-3 months (9), 2-6 months (7), whenever staff can do it (1)
• How frequent is follow-up? 1 check (24), 2 checks (5), 3 checks (4, and 2 more planned to do so)
• What methods are used for follow-up? Phone call only (21), phone plus email (5), email only (2), letter survey (3), phone call plus letter survey (2)
• If adoptive owner reports problems during follow-up checks, what do you do?
  • Behavioral Issues: Refer to trainer/behaviorist for problems (21), ask the designated trainer/behaviorist to contact the owner (17), refer to the  Behavior Hotline (11), have staff call and offer consult (7), send packet of printed information (3)
  • Medical Issues: Assist with medical referrals, funding, help with problem (14), provide pet health insurance for 30 days (2)
• Is there a script/checklist use for follow-up checks on the phone? Yes (11), no (22)
• The most important issue listed for follow-up is the need to conduct follow-up consistently (18).