It Takes a Village
HEROES TO THE RESCUE
Continuing our series to introduce our GRRMF village volunteer teams, our application team members are our unsung heroes for our dogs and their humans anxious to add furry love to complete their family.
Superheroes don’t always wear capes, fly through the air or have superhuman powers. Sometimes they’re people who simply care about others and work tirelessly to help make the world a better place. The GRRMF application team volunteers are our superheroes.
Working behind the scenes, their job is critical to the success of GRRMF. These dedicated volunteers strive to be thorough and meticulous ensuring our dogs are placed in the best homes possible, which has been twice as hard with COVID. While other rescues stopped accepting and placing dogs during the pandemic, our team leaders knew that was not an option. They re-engineered the processes and reworked procedures to make sure GRRMF could still save lives and operate ensuring the highest level of care for our rescues. Sarah Davis, Director of Application says, “Our goal is to place our dogs in the best home possible and be sure they have found their fur-ever home where they can attain their full potential and live the life every dog deserves.”
The multi-step process begins when prospective adopters submit their on-line application. About eighty percent of applicants move on to the next step of vet check. Here we confer with the candidate’s veterinarian for a routine check on the care their current (or past) dog receives, including preventative care and screenings. Next is a phone interview to discuss what the new owners are interested in adopting and ensuring family dynamics meet their request. Because of the pandemic, we had to find new, creative ways to learn more about prospective adopters in 2020. All in-person interviews had to change and the team implemented longer, more detailed phone interviews and virtual home visits.
Once through all these steps, applications get a second review encompassing all aspects of the process, making sure nothing is overlooked. From first clicking that apply button to getting final approval may take as long as 8 weeks. “We want to make sure we get it right; there is a loving family and a deserving golden depending on us,” says Donna Auger, one of the application coordinators.
Everyone on the application team understands what is at stake and as a volunteer, invests their personal time and effort to keep GRRMF running. No, they may not be able to leap tall buildings in a single bound, but for a dog in need and a loving family, the application team are true superheroes!
