Would anyone be interested in trying out a platform for matching dogs with homes and give me some feedback?

[Hemlock]

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I'm another who would not give out unnecessary personal details that might be misused by third parties. We have a responsibility collectively to keep our information secure.

 

[LicensedBreeder]

Great idea, not all rescue pets can be suited to everyone, especially if they have had a traumatic history. Just look at the bad press Lily Allen is getting because she rehomed a rescue. My Licensed Breeder wher contacted by company called PetBond. I think it may be similar - worth taking a look.

 

[mhantova]

I'm just registering, and would like to mention that I don't like giving out my phone number or date of birth, or even postal address when it's not essential - I would like the option of only giving my email address for contact information. Is this possible? It's true it would be helpful to know approximately where I live, or to be able to search within a distance from an approximate location, but that shouldn't need exact details.

Good shout. What we can do is move to essential only to your point. Probably will do name, surname, email only at registration and then we'll ask for phone and address only when applying so that we can do some checks (check for bots/fraudsters etc) and so that we can pass to charities for contact if needed.

'Do any children regularly visit your home?': Would it be helpful to specify ages here? I have 2-year-old and 1-month-old grandchildren who often visit - the situation would be different if they were teenagers. (Disclaimer - they are both here at the moment and any apparent issues with the website might be something to do with that )

Once I'd completed the quiz, it seemed to return me to the same page, with no indication that it had been accepted successfully - this may be because I requested a saluki, and you don't have any, but there should be some sort of feedback on this. Also, I'm not sure if the quiz is the same as the form.

'3. Seemless Application Process' - 'Seemless' should be 'Seamless'.

I like the point on children visiting in different ages, should be easy enough to fix. And same for returning to the page without confirmation - think we're missing a screen there! Typo noted also!


Cheers!!

 

[mhantova]

I found the site but cant register Im not in the uk.. so I cant see what the site is like.

As for back stories...
When I adopted George my beagle I already had a social media page for my other dog Murphy and I sent the owner of George a link. She looked through my photos and decided we were a great match.

I was told George was an escape artist, I was told he needed to be on a tether in the garden because he was destructive at times and would dig under the fence.

What he was is bored,, bored out of his mind. A male beagle kept in a nice garden but a garden none the less, he could see the park and the other dogs he could hear them but he couldnt get to them and it drove him insane.
His owner loved him but fed him rubbish, cheap kibble and left overs.

He came home started a raw diet, got regular bedtime and regular feeding times he also got long walks where he is allowed to track and sniff and snuffle and do what beagles do. Now Id have to say he is a content doggy who loves to sleep on a comfy bed or sofa and who enjoys his walks, he isnt destrucive or loud or any form of escape artist..

Sometimes the behaviour isnt the dog its the situation he/she is in thats the problem.

I love a success story like this!! Had a similar one with a foster of mine who was labelled as destructive by her original adopters. We then took her in and turns out she was just a puppy who was being left alone for long times in her crate, so when she was let out she's just go bananas. She's in a new home now for about 3 years and she's thriving and living the best life! The right assessment is just so important...

I was thinking for our site we wouldn't be allowing individuals to rehome directly to individuals with the idea that if a pet goes to a charity first, they might be more suited to assess them and find them the right home. Appreciate charities might not always be good at this but I'm hoping they'll be better than individuals overall. But happy to hear thoughts on this approach?


Just one last thing you mentioned - is it giving you an error when you try to register? I don't think we've put any limitations on location, so wondering if there's some bug there we can't see as we're all in the UK.

 

[mhantova]

I'm another who would not give out unnecessary personal details that might be misused by third parties. We have a responsibility collectively to keep our information secure.

Thanks for that, I'm thinking we can change it to reduce the info we ask for. Would you be comfortable with name, surname, email only to register (would need to have some minimum info, so we can keep people's profiles)?

Then when you find a dog you like, you can give a bit more info like contact details and address, so that the rescue have some way of contact and also so that we make sure we have genuine people on the website.

Let me know what you'd feel comfortable with

 

[mhantova]

I'm glad you said that as I did make an account so I could do the quiz. You answered one of my questions, because I found the form a bit basic considering this could be the starting point of someone adopting or looking for adopters.

My other thoughts on the form were that when you have a drop down menu, I think it would be helpful to have an 'other' option where you can add something more specific, if the options offered aren't quite right. (But I struggle to pick answers if they aren't exactly what I need, tbf!)

The last point I thought would be helpful, (if I was a charity or breeder looking for adopters), is to maybe ask the question 'why do you want to adopt?' and have a space where you can write a short answer. If nothing else it could encourage people to stop and think for a moment in order to write a brief answer... but saying all this I am aware I tend to over think/complicate things sometimes!!

I will have to close my account down though as I don't want to be tempted!! (or I could just leave it dormant I suppose...hmm...)

Thank you for creating a registration and taking the time! Is there anything specific from the questions/anwers that stands out as being too limited? We can add a few more options where needed.

I love the idea of asking a question about motivation, keeps that balance between being easy to use and far too easy to use. What would you think about custom question. So when a person selects to apply for a pet, we ask them 1-2 questions which the charity has pre-selected. Gives the person some time to think it thought and gives the charity some more personal insight?

 

[mhantova]

I'd be interested in trying this out. I'm beginning to look for a dog and going round in circles in my head about rescue / buying because of many of the things you mentioned - & I've done both in the past.

Awesome, if you look up ePupp, we'll come up as the first page in your browser. We still have a limited number of pets on the website but expecting a big charity to onboard this Thursday!

Also, if you'd be open to sharing more about your overall experience with looking for a rescue, I'll be really interested to hear what challenges you've come across and see if it's something we can help people with in the future

 

[Hemlock]

Thanks for that, I'm thinking we can change it to reduce the info we ask for. Would you be comfortable with name, surname, email only to register (would need to have some minimum info, so we can keep people's profiles)?

Then when you find a dog you like, you can give a bit more info like contact details and address, so that the rescue have some way of contact and also so that we make sure we have genuine people on the website.

Let me know what you'd feel comfortable with

Yes I'd be comfortable with that, so thank you for taking it on board.

 

[Flobo]

Thank you for creating a registration and taking the time! Is there anything specific from the questions/anwers that stands out as being too limited? We can add a few more options where needed.

I love the idea of asking a question about motivation, keeps that balance between being easy to use and far too easy to use. What would you think about custom question. So when a person selects to apply for a pet, we ask them 1-2 questions which the charity has pre-selected. Gives the person some time to think it thought and gives the charity some more personal insight?

Sorry for delay in answering, been super busy this week! I haven't got time to go back and look at the form just now, but from memory I think it was the type of area you live in - I live on the outskirts of a small city with pretty good access to green spaces, but I think I had to click on just city. This obviously didn't reflect where I live correctly. Also the question about previous experience with dogs/cats, I think it would be more beneficial if there was space to elaborate there. Someone may well have had previous rescues, but no experience of working with issues. Personally I'd like a question regarding awareness of basic dog body language and positive reinforcement training methods, whether people have none or some and/or if it's something they would be willing to look into. Another question to make people think... as we all know taking on any animal is a big commitment.

Putting in a question re motivation would be fantastic, sounds great!

 

[Mad Murphy]

I love a success story like this!! Had a similar one with a foster of mine who was labelled as destructive by her original adopters. We then took her in and turns out she was just a puppy who was being left alone for long times in her crate, so when she was let out she's just go bananas. She's in a new home now for about 3 years and she's thriving and living the best life! The right assessment is just so important...

I was thinking for our site we wouldn't be allowing individuals to rehome directly to individuals with the idea that if a pet goes to a charity first, they might be more suited to assess them and find them the right home. Appreciate charities might not always be good at this but I'm hoping they'll be better than individuals overall. But happy to hear thoughts on this approach?


Just one last thing you mentioned - is it giving you an error when you try to register? I don't think we've put any limitations on location, so wondering if there's some bug there we can't see as we're all in the UK.

It asks for a UK address which I understand because this is a uk based website for rehoming uk based dogs.. but it means I cant past the front door unless I lie and give mums old address..

 

[mhantova]

It asks for a UK address which I understand because this is a uk based website for rehoming uk based dogs.. but it means I cant past the front door unless I lie and give mums old address..

We'll have a look into it, thank you!