What Triggers an Alert to My Team?

How Alerts Work

When an alert-triggering response is submitted, your team receives an email notification. Alert emails include the topic type (behavior, medical, or general) and the adoption location in the subject line, making it easy to set up inbox filters that route behavior alerts to training staff, medical alerts to your vet team, and so on.

Day 1 Survey

What adopters are asked:

• Overall rating of how things are going (1–5 scale)
• How they heard about your organization
• Net Promoter Score (likelihood to recommend), and if lower than 8, what can be improved on
• Whether they came in specifically for this animal
• What made this animal the right match
• What support would be most helpful right now (select all that apply: behavior/training, medical, affording care, introductions, routine, nutrition, supplies, housing, temporary foster, other)
• Whether they'd like your team to follow up

What triggers an alert:
If an adopter selects any of the following on the follow-up question, your team receives a notification and the adopter is prompted to share their contact information and details:

• Yes — behavior or training support
• Yes — medical or health question related to care provided at the shelter
• Yes — something else

Week 1 Survey

What adopters are asked:

• Overall rating (1–5)
• What has gone well (eating, walks, introductions, housetraining, etc.)
• Challenges with adjustment (fear, appetite, aggression toward animals or people, separation anxiety, barking, etc.)
• If aggression is reported: a follow-up asking them to describe the behavior in more detail (biting/scratching that broke the skin, biting without breaking skin, play biting, growling around food, fearful snapping, conflict with another pet, etc.)
• Current medications or supplements
• Other animals the pet regularly interacts with
• People in the household, including children under 18
• Whether they'd like your team to follow up

What triggers an alert:

• Aggression toward animals or people is selected → the follow-up behavior description question is shown
• "Biting or scratching that broke the skin" is selected → automatic alert to your team

Selecting other aggression descriptors (growling, play biting, fearful snapping, etc.) does not trigger an alert.

Month 1 Survey

The Month 1 survey follows the same structure as Week 1 for behavioral questions.

What triggers an alert:

• Same as Week 1: aggression reported → description follow-up shown → alert only if skin was broken
• Whether they'd like your team to follow up

Month 2 Survey

What adopters are asked:

• Overall rating (1–5)
• What has gone well
• Challenges with adjustment
• If aggression reported: behavior description follow-up (same as Week 1)
• Current medications or supplements
• Other animals the pet regularly interacts with
• Household members, including children under 18
• What is causing the most stress (behavior, medical, cost of care, conflict in home, time/lifestyle, nothing major)
• Whether they've had any doubts about keeping the pet (No / It has briefly crossed my mind / Yes — I'm concerned / Yes — I need help now)
• Whether they'd like your team to follow up

What triggers an alert:

• "Biting or scratching that broke the skin" → automatic alert
• "Yes — I need help now" on the doubts question → automatic alert, behavior follow-up required
• Whether they'd like your team to follow up

Month 3 Survey

Same structure as Month 2.

What triggers an alert:

• "Biting or scratching that broke the skin" → automatic alert
• "Yes — I'm concerned" or "Yes — I need help now" on the doubts question → automatic alert, behavior follow-up required
• Whether they'd like your team to follow up

Note: Month 3 triggers on both "I'm concerned" and "I need help now," where Month 2 only triggers on "I need help now."

Month 4 Survey

What adopters are asked:

• An open-ended prompt to share a story, funny moment, or milestone
• A photo upload (with consent to use on social, website, newsletters, etc.)
• Net Promoter Score
• Whether they'd like to stay involved (foster, volunteer, donate, refer a friend)

What triggers an alert:

• A photo is submitted → your team receives an email notification so you don't miss the submission

Month 6 Survey

What adopters are asked:

• An open-ended "how are things going" prompt
• Overall status: Things are going great / Overall good with a few normal challenges / We'd appreciate some additional support or resources
• If support is requested: what kind (behavior, medical, affording care, supplies, housing, foster, etc.)

What triggers an alert:

• Month 6 responses, including support requests, are available in your Adopter Hub dashboard. There is no automatic email alert for this survey.

Year 1 Survey

What adopters are asked:

• An open-ended reflection on the past year (favorite memory, funny habit, milestone)
• "What's one thing [animal name] does that always makes you smile?"
• Photo and video uploads (with consent built into the survey)
• Net Promoter Score
• Whether they'd like to stay involved

What triggers an alert:

• Year 1 responses are available in your dashboard. There is no automatic email alert for this survey.

Quick Reference: Alert Triggers by Survey