Getting to the animal shelter for help isn’t always easy. Time, transportation or proximity to the shelter can be huge barriers. Throw in COVID-19 restrictions to the mix, and it could be nearly impossible to seek assistance. Which is why using this Human Animal Support Services Remote Customer Service toolkit can work to your organization’s advantage.

This toolkit is just one of the thirteen professional resources for implementing the Human Animal Support Services model of animal sheltering. The toolkits and resources have been created in collaboration with the HASS Project Working Groups, Pilot Shelters, and HASS/American Pets Alive! staff. 

Historically, in order to get help from an animal shelter, community members had to come, in person, to the shelter. This is often inconvenient, especially for people who do not live in close proximity to the shelter or do not have reliable, pet accessible transportation. Additionally, many services can be delayed while community members are awaiting appointments, finding time to get to the shelter, or awaiting a response. Using technology to increase remote customer service often reduces these delays.

A few things you can begin to implement with the help of this toolkit are:

• Provide remote adoption counseling
• Implement live chat services for the public contacting you with questions
• Begin practicing telehealth for foster appointments
• Change paper forms to online forms for intake procedures

View the full toolkit to read more about the problems this toolkit helps solve, step-by-step instructions on how to begin offering these services, inspiring success stories and more!