In-Person Adoption Events are Back
If the past year taught us anything - it’s that our Muddy Paws Pack is pretty unflappable. Our fosters, volunteers, supporters, staff and adopters stepped up in ways we never could have imagined and we are so grateful for everyone’s ability to pivot on a moment’s notice. The biggest challenge we faced last March was completely re-imagining our adoption process and making it completely virtual. This new process was extremely successful, with 1,000+ pups finding their forever families since then!
While our virtual adoption process is still in place…we are excited to announce that we are officially resuming our in-person adoption events starting July 17! We will continue to adjust our events, policies, and procedures as needed based on the most up-to-date health and safety recommendations by the CDC.
As we prepare for the big day, we wanted to loop you in on how things will work moving forward.
Where do adoption events take place?
Our events generally take place every Saturday at Petsmart in Flatiron (1107 Broadway), Petco in Union Square (860 Broadway), or Boris and Horton in the East Village (195 Avenue A). You can see the dates, times and locations of our events on our Calendar.
How do adoption events work?
Leading up to our events, our adoptions team will schedule meetings with pre-approved adopters. Pre-scheduled meetings will take place during the first half of our event. Some dogs will have meetings scheduled prior to the event starting, while others will not. Meetings will also be scheduled the day of as walk-up adopters go through the pre-approval process and pre-approved adopters sign up to talk with one of our Matchmakers.
Meetings are generally 15-20 minutes long. Adopters must be pre-approved in order to meet with a dog. If dogs are adopted during the event, they will go home with their adopters that day.
If I am a Pre-approved adopter, what does this mean for me?
Pre-approved adopters should keep an eye on the Adoptable Dogs page to see the most up-to-date list of our available dogs. When you see a dog you’re interested in, please email our Adoptions Team at adoptionmeetings@muddypawsrescue.org prior to a Saturday event to learn more about that dog and potentially set up a meeting. We strongly encourage you to check the website regularly, as we update it daily. Be sure to reach out immediately when you see a dog you are interested in!
If you do not get lined up for a pre-scheduled meeting for our Saturday event, that’s okay! If you are a pre-approved adopter who did not confirm a pre-scheduled meeting, you are welcome to come at 12:30pm to sign up for a meeting with one of our Matchmakers to talk about which dogs could be a good match.
If I am a walk-up adopter, what does this mean for me?
Our approved adopters with pre-scheduled meetings will generally arrive during the first half of our event between 11am-12:30pm. During that time, walk-up adopters are also welcome to come by the event to have their adoption applications processed if they are prepared to take home a dog the same day. However, walk-up adopters cannot meet with a dog until the public event begins at 12:30pm. Walk-up adopters may have their application processed during the public event (12:30pm-2:30pm) but for the best chance at adopting a dog that day, we recommend becoming pre-approved ahead of time.
Which dogs are present on event days?
Only dogs who are currently available for adoption and suitable for in-person meetings will be present on event days. Some dogs will only be available for remote or virtual meetings due to our own capacity, or that dog’s behavior or medical status. If you are pre-approved and interested in meeting a specific dog, please email our Adoptions Team prior to a Saturday event to set up a meeting.
I’m interested in becoming more involved with Muddy Paws Rescue. Are you accepting new volunteers?
Our volunteer orientations are still postponed until further notice. We are hoping to start onboarding volunteers again in the very near future. If you’re interested in volunteering, you can submit an interest form. Once we start onboarding new volunteers again, we will let you know.
We can’t wait to see you!
We look forward to making our first in-person events since March 2020 a huge success. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to reach out to info@muddypawsrescue.org.
