Bleakholt Animal Sanctuary

Bleakholt Animal Sanctuary, which finds home for over 1,300 animals a year, has a very small intake unit, which means that some (fully vaccinated) dogs go straight into public kennels and are on view to potential customers during their 7 day assessment process. This was causing huge problems, as many potential adopters would arrive on the day a dog completed its assessment wishing to rehome it. Consequently, these dogs were being rehomed on a first come first served basis, not necessarily to the most suitable home. In addition, dates would sometimes get mixed up, resulting in a poor customer experience.

After attending the Rehoming Module as part of the Intensive Dog Rescue and Rehoming Programme, Bleakholt have introduced an application system to help manage this issue. Once a dog has been admitted and examined by a vet, an expression of interest can be made by customers looking to adopt. After seven days, if an application matches the dogs need, subject to a home visit, the dog can be rehomed to that customer.

This has resulted in a lower return rate, as dogs are matched to the home that most suits their requirements. It has also resulted in an improved customer experience, as often a more suitable dog is found for the customer if they are unsuccessful on their first application. At the time of writing, the return rate had dropped by 3.6% YTD from 13.6 % in 2018 to 10% YTD in 2019.