Adoption and foster handover checklist

A good handover starts before the visit

Before an adopter or foster meets the animal, confirm household agreement, landlord or building pet rules, work schedule, travel plans, existing pets, children, allergies, emergency transport, and who pays for routine and emergency veterinary care. These details matter more than a perfect-looking living room.

Apartment and villa safety

For apartments, check balcony access, window screens, lift and lobby rules, noise sensitivity, litter placement, and safe space for decompression. For villas, check gate gaps, garden chemicals, pool access, service-area heat, and whether the pet can be accidentally let out by visitors or staff.

Ask the adopter to show where the pet will sleep, eat, toilet, decompress, and stay when nobody is home. If the plan depends on a crate, maid's room, balcony, or outdoor area, discuss temperature, supervision, and welfare clearly.

Document transfer

Transfer the microchip number, vaccine records, sterilization status, medical notes, food routine, known triggers, and clinic contact. If ownership registration needs to move later, write down who is responsible and by when. Do not leave the adopter with only a chat thread and no structured record.

First week routine

Set up one quiet room with water, bedding, toilet supplies, and food before the animal arrives. Keep visitors away at first, avoid immediate grooming or daycare, and introduce existing pets slowly. Stable meals, short walks or play, and predictable sleep are more useful than a busy welcome schedule.

Trial period and return plan

A trial period should have rules before the animal moves: how long it lasts, what support the rescue provides, what counts as an emergency return, what behavior needs a trainer or vet discussion first, and where the animal goes if the placement fails. A vague trial can become abandonment when the first difficult week arrives.

Money and fundraising boundaries

Keep adoption fees, deposits, transport costs, and medical reimbursements transparent. GAMJA should not be used for unclear animal sales or pressure-based fundraising. If money is involved, explain exactly what it covers and keep receipts.

Follow-up without overreach

Plan check-ins at 24 hours, one week, one month, and the next vaccine or sterilization milestone. Ask for welfare signals: eating, drinking, toilet habits, sleep, hiding, barking or meowing, walking confidence, and interaction with people or other pets. Avoid turning follow-up into public shaming; solve problems privately first unless there is a safety risk.

A strong home check is not about finding a perfect home. It is about making risks visible before the animal is already there.