Press Release

 

Humane Society of South Central Michigan Launches ASPCA®’s Meet Your Match™ Program

 

Humane Society of South Central Michigan Launches ASPCA®’s Meet Your Match™ Program

February 14, 2008

ASPCA Media Contact

NEW YORK, February 14, 2008—The ASPCA® (The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals®) is proud to announce that the Humane Society of South Central Michigan (HS-SCM) has implemented the ASPCA®’s Meet Your Match™ family of adoption programs just in time for Valentine’s Day. The ASPCA®’s Meet Your Match™ stable of programs, sponsored by Iams®, includes research-based animal behavior assessments—all aimed at increasing adoption rates, and reducing return rates at shelters, thus combating the problem of pet overpopulation in shelters.

“Animals in shelters are obviously most at-risk when it comes to companion animals,” said ASPCA President & CEO Ed Sayres. “The ASPCA®’s Meet Your Match™ enables organizations just like HS-SCM across the country to give these animals the second chance they so genuinely deserve by fostering an environment conducive to successful, permanent adoptions.”

“We are thrilled to debut the installation of the ASPCA®’s Meet Your Match™ at our shelter,” said Kim Brubaker, interim director of HS-SCM. “It is so important to increase and maintain successful adoptions, and we know the program will help us to reduce the number of returns to the shelter and ultimately help reduce animal overpopulation in shelters.”

“I am very excited that HS-SCM is now using the program,” said Dr. Emily Weiss, the ASPCA’s senior director of Shelter Behavior Programs, and developer of the ASPCA®’s Meet Your Match™. “The key to developing successful adoptions lies in making good matches between adopters and pets, thus creating lasting bonds. I am confident that many in south central Michigan—adopters, shelter staff, and most of all, the animals—will benefit from this program.”

The ASPCA®’s Meet Your Match™ includes research-based behavior assessments that determine the “Canine-ality™” and “Puppy-ality™” of adoptable dogs and puppies, as well as the “Feline-ality™” of adoptable cats, and matching them with their perfect pet parents. Based on their Canine-ality™, Puppy-ality™, or Feline-ality™ assessment, the animals are assigned one of nine canine-alities, puppy-alities, or feline-alities which fall into three major categories. These categories are color-coded purple, orange, and green respectively, and the descriptions are added to the animal’s kennel card. Some examples include the relaxed and laid back “Couch Potato,” the naturally playful, curious and trusting “Busy Bee,” and action hero-type “Go-Getter.”

The adopter survey is the second component of the process, which asks 19 questions of the potential adopter to determine which Canine-ality™/Puppy-ality™/Feline-ality™ best matches his or her expectations, experience, lifestyle and home environment. The adopter is then given a purple, orange or green guest pass so that she can seek out those animals—also color-coded—that best match her lifestyle.

For more information on the ASPCA®’s Meet Your Match™, sponsored by Iams®, visit www.aspca.org. For more information about HS-SCM, please visit http://www.hs-scm.org/.

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Founded in 1866, the ASPCA® (The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals®) is the first humane organization established in the Americas and serves as the nation’s leading voice for animal welfare. One million supporters strong, the ASPCA’s mission is to provide effective means for the prevention of cruelty to animals throughout the United States. As a 501 [c] [3] not-for-profit corporation, the ASPCA is a national leader in the areas of anti-cruelty, community outreach and animal health services. The ASPCA, which is headquartered in New York City, offers a wide range of programs, including a mobile clinic outreach initiative, its own humane law enforcement team, and a groundbreaking veterinary forensics team and mobile animal CSI unit. For more information, please visit www.aspca.org.

 

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