Petra Pleskotova
Looking For Pets – Petra Pleskotová
"When promoting a dog, every detail matters, and not every shelter realizes everything. Working with animals must be a mission for a person."
Can you introduce your organization to us? How long has it been operating and what is your main mission?
Looking For Pets is a brand that was founded 10 years ago and through this website, shelters, quarantine stations, associations and FCI registered kennels can find new families for the dogs they are in their care. The website is also focused on cats and any other animals looking for a new human family. Previously, the main activity of the association was adoption, i.e. taking over dogs from the shelter, temporary care and finding a new home, in the meantime providing quality veterinary care including basic diagnostics. Now our activities have mostly shifted to advertising and promoting dogs. In other words: "We help other entities adopt."
How many animals do you currently have and how often do you take in new ones?
I think the numbers are constantly changing and I don't know them completely. It depends on when new dogs are uploaded, how many people adopt from the ones uploaded last time. For example, puppies are only in the shelter for a short time, but other dogs, on the contrary, are there for 4-6 years. From my point of view, it is clearly the shelter's fault, because unfortunately they don't know how to promote.
How is the rescue and care of animals carried out before they find a new home?
It was standard for us to have every dog and cat undergo a clinical examination, complete hematology and biochemistry, abdominal ultrasound, ideally also a look at the heart, and an X-ray of the entire dog/cat. If the animal did not have vaccinations, a chip, or an EU passport, everything was taken care of before adoption. It was also a matter of course that all females, cats, and males were neutered before being transferred to a new home.
In the meantime, we paid attention to quality nutrition – ideally natural food or high-quality granules – and also to ensure that the animal was as emotionally attached to us as possible. The goal was to make the transition to a new home as smooth as possible and not cause unnecessary stress. It is important to remember that each shelter, association or quarantine station has its own options, rules and standards.
What do you see as the point of promotion itself when it comes to presenting a dog?
It is definitely a high-quality photo or video. But you can always see the effort of those who want to take a good photo of the animal and those who don't. If there are blurry photos or some where you can't even see the dog and it's just a blur, we say : "Don't be angry, we won't promote that dog to you." Promotion is free with us.
How do you screen future owners?
Shelters don't vet prospective owners because they say they don't have the capacity to do it, but they do for me. They can hire a person, a student or anyone, so they really know that the dog will be well and not some bully or a lunatic. When shelters don't do that, and I think a lot of people don't, then unfortunately things turn out the way they do, sometimes the way they do.
Do you offer any support or advice after adoption?
We can advise, for example, on a video or promotion if a shelter or organization is interested. Unfortunately, not every shelter does this, and not every shelter provides everything, whether it is advice or interest in quality promotion. I have also experienced shelters, for example, information from my acquaintances when a friend needed support from the shelter and wanted to know about the history of an adopted dog, and they acted as if they were bothering them. That's why I say, it's a shelter from a shelter. But I believe that there are also many great shelters where they will give you 100% advice and you can call at any time and they will never say to you : "Don't bother us with this." I have a great experience with the AniDef shelter, but unfortunately there are also places where dogs just float around, without much care and attention.
What role do social networks (Facebook, Instagram) play in finding new homes for animals?
Social networks, especially Facebook and Instagram, play a crucial role in finding new homes for animals – even an absolute one for some types of dogs. In an online world where most people look for new pets online, a well-managed presentation on social networks is crucial. Most people today are looking for their new companion online. This applies not only to the younger generations, but also to seniors or people without access to the internet, who are helped in their search by relatives or acquaintances. Although we know that the character of the animal is much more important than its appearance, the first decision is made based on photos or videos.
Do you have a strategy to attract as many people as possible and increase the chance of adoption?
Our strategy is based on understanding how we humans work and what really affects us in the flood of online content. Today, adoption is 99% online promotion, i.e. photos and videos. Chihuahuas are presented differently, and 250 interested people will contact you without you having to do anything extraordinary, and mountain sheepdogs, for example, are presented differently, where a completely different approach is needed, because you are looking for a completely different type of interested person.
Can you share a story of an animal that social media helped find a home?
Yes, this is a video that I still have to this day. Sometimes a dog doesn't feel like cooperating, but that time I was taking one for a walk and he squatted and peed. I thought, "Oh, so you're going to have a girl." I set up my tripod, attached a selfie stick to it, and started filming: "Hello, ladies and gentlemen, we have a beautiful little girl here." And then the dog looked at me, sat down normally, spread his legs, and the video clearly showed that he was a boy. So I said, "Well, I don't have a girl here, I have a boy." I was confused that he squatted, which is not normal, but it can happen. That dog clearly showed me that he was definitely a boy. The video had a million views and several other dogs were adopted because of it."
What are the biggest problems you face in adoption?
People who have animals because they are mentally ill collectors. They refuse help with promotion, they refuse adoptions, they only want anything that will help them in operation, maintain and increase the number of dogs - money, feeding, physical help, organizing auctions. But they sabotage the adoption effort and when they are forced to back down and "allow" someone to advertise and promote, they always find faults with the applicants and a reason why they will not give them a dog that has been waiting in a kennel for years anyway. Misers who will repeat to you how they have no money, but they have dozens or hundreds of dogs in the shelter and tens or hundreds of thousands of crowns in their account, from which they could easily pay for the labor force for walking, filming videos, taking photos, socializing, temporary care and anything that will help adopt not 5 or 30 dogs a month, but 5 or 10 times as many. People who hold animals hostage. An animal is the only family member we can choose, and we humans should be demanding and critical. We should have a perfect idea of what a dog should be like to fit in with us. And with these absolutely clear requirements, if people were looking for dogs, we would all be better off, especially those dogs.
How can people who cannot adopt help your organization? (volunteering, financial support, etc.)
They can certainly help materially, financially and definitely get involved in the nearest shelter. And take the dogs out, take photos and videos and contact us and we will try to use this material as much as possible to promote the dogs and we hope that the shelter itself will welcome it.
What are your plans for the future? Are you planning any new projects or expansion of your activities?
The ideal goal would be enough funds to be able to arrange at least 10 filming sessions in shelters per year. Even though one such "mission" can help with the adoptions of one to three quarters of the shelter's staff, i.e. de facto send dozens of dogs home, it is not an attractive enough topic to attract the attention of donors. And unfortunately, shelter operators are not willing to pay for the promotion of their charges, with exceptions, but they do not need that help there, because they have already secured it themselves long ago.
Instagram: lookingforpets
Facebook : facebook.com/lookingforpets
The interview was written and edited by: Lenka Petrásková