Rooty Tooty – His diary widget shows the sponsorship capability
Name: Rooty Tooty Species: Chihuahua mix Age: 9 years Sex: male Location: Modesto, CA Contact: cynthia@adoptmeapp.org Animal ID: 1074
Hi there – I’m an adoptable pup in foster care . I snuck my pet profile in here when my foster person, who is the founder of AdoptMeApp, left me home alone with the computer turned on!
Now, let’s talk about Me, Me, Me! I’m Roo, or Rooty Tooty for long, or Rooty Tooty Tooty Tooty for really long!
–>I’m in foster care with 3 doggy brothers and I love them all. I really, really LOVE them. I am a dog’s dog, no matter who the other dog is, big or small. But the dog I love the most is my god, my guru, my mentor and my teacher – his name is Tiki, or Tiki Wiki for long. Tiki is a 10lb chi mix and he has taught me all about doggy manners. I didn’t know anything when I came to live with my foster family. I’m was still just a puppy and I thought all doggies played all the time. Tiki taught me there is a time and place for everything:
To everything, turn, turn, turn. There is a season, turn, turn, turn. And a time to every purpose under heaven. A time to eat, a time to play. A time to come, a time to stay. A time for naps, a time for pats. A time for snacks, I swear there are more treats.
But, I digress. However I would do best in a home with another patient but firm dog who will play with me a lot, but who will also let me know when playtime is over.
As for people, I was afraid of them when I first arrived in my foster home. They would chase me and catch me and I would be so scared I would scream, poop, pee and shake. Now I understand they won’t hurt me and I tolerate it but I am still not loving it. My foster person sings a little song “Rooty Tooty Tooty Tooty Tooty” so I know she is going to pick me up. I go sit in the corner and wait for the inevitable. I don’t complain when I am picked up, I don’t squirm, but I am still getting used to it. To help me become more familiar with handling my foster person carries me around in a little doggy papoose.
I am easy to manage though because I go wherever Tiki goes! I sleep in the bed with my foster person and the other 3 dogs, I hang out by her desk when she is working on the computer. I take treats right from her hand and put my little paws on her leg. So I’m well on my way to being comfy with people but I do need a kind, patient, pet guardian who is willing to let me go at my own pace. I have been on a few walks (always with my guru Tiki), and I went to Petsmart Doggy Day Camp and did well (of course, my guru Tiki went with me).
I am worked on my house training and got it figured out! I learned how to go get in my bed when told to. I don’t mind when other people come over and I will take treats from them. I do have a strong mind of my own – despite being small I am not a wallflower. I do a bit of barking (not at the squirrels, mostly at other dogs and people when they walk by and I am outside on the enclosed front porch).
Well, I’ve got a lot more to tell you but let’s meet in person and have a chat. Bring you other doggy with you so that we can play!
Photos by Jill Thompson, Palo Alto, CA
Below is the live sponsorship banner in the diary (on our production site)
Features and capabilities of the sponsorship banner that are already functioning:
One or two banners can be present
Cycling, or choosing randomly, through banners is implemented, and the banners can have different weighting
The banners can be placed based on the species
Each banner can be linked (the one below is)
Please note that the sponsorship banner is for demo purposes only. We do not have Purina as a sponsor (yet).
Name: Danny Species: Dog Breed: appearance is that of a German Shepherd blend (DNA = 80% shepherd) Age: 2 years Sex: male (neutered)
Location: Stanislaus County
Rescue: Golden State German Shepherd Rescue gsgsrescue.org Contact: cynthia@adoptmeapp.org Animal ID: 20995350
Now, let’s talk about Me, Me, Me! I’m Danny and while I have a sad past my future is going to be wonderful!
I was found by the Stockton shelter on the side of the freeway with a broken front leg and shotgun wounds. I did not have a microchip and no one came to the shelter looking for me. Given my medical situation I needed to go to a rescue organization who could pay for my medical treatments (over $3K – thanks for the donations) and put me in foster care. Golden State German Shepherd Rescue stepped in to pull me into their rescue because they could tell I am an amazing pup! After surgery I stayed with my first foster person for 3 months confined to a small kennel in order for my leg to heal. Then I went to my second foster home to learn how to be a family dog.
Now I am in foster care with 2 doggy sisters – Heidi & Matilija (aka Mattie) and I love them both. I really, really LOVE them. Heidi is my best friend and she and I play, play play all day long! I am a dog’s dog, no matter who the other dog is, big or small.
To everything, turn, turn, turn.
There is a season, turn, turn, turn.
And a time to every purpose under heaven.
A time to eat, a time to play.
A time to come, a time to stay.
A time for naps, a time for pats.
A time for snacks, I swear there are more treats.
But, I digress. I would do well in a home with another dog who will play with me a lot. I would also be fine as in a single dog home as long as my person/people give me lots of love, activities, and attention. Look how calm I am in our zoom yoga class!
I am easy to manage because I am so laid back. If Heidi takes my toy, oh well, she needed it more than me! I eat side-by-side with Heidi and we never steal each other’s food.
I am house trained. I’ve learned a few commands – sit, wait, backup. I rarely bark and only when it’s necessary to protect my foster person and our home.
Well, I’ve got a lot more to tell you but let’s meet in person and have a chat. Bring your other doggy with you so that we can play!
Check out my diary below! It has nearly 40 entries, including many videos. My favorite entry is the video taken in the house with me playing with Heidi and Mattie. They are such fun and I am so gentle with them even though I am a lot bigger.
We updated the flyer to be primarily a marketing tool to help shelters attract more users, and to inform users that there is more info about AdoptMeApp right here on this webpage.
There are two versions of the flyer – the versions are exactly the same except for the header. Take your pick or use both. Below are the jpg versions. Please feel free to give these flyers wide distribution at your shelter – printed and posted in the volunteer and staff areas, emailed to staff, volunteers and fosters, use in your onboarding of volunteers, use to attract volunteers who love social media, put in your newletters, show to your BoD, etc. Here is a link to the pdf versions (and also the jpgs).
Many thanks to Erika Bustos at Pinal County Animal Care and Control for this wonderful, fun, short video on how-to-use AdoptMeApp.
While AdoptMeApp doesn’t require any training this short video will quickly get you acquainted with everything you can do and where to find additional information.
How to post a video
This is one of our most asked questions. Follow this link for a step by step tutorial but it’s actually very easy. Upload the video to YouTube then copy/paste the “share” URL into the app text field. You must use the “share” link or the “shorts” link NOT the YouTube video URL. This link is also on the video edit page to the right in YouTube. Use this one: https://youtu.be/SQFVfYe4G0c NOT this one: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SQFVfYe4G0c#action=share UPDATE 4/1/2021: You can also use the “shorts” url.
IMPORTANT! AdoptMeApp only recognizes the YouTube URL. No other URLs are recognized. There is a workaround. See the URL section below.
Download this 8.5×11 flyer and email or/and print to hand out to all your shelter volunteers, fosters and staff, post in the community area, and include it in the volunteer and foster training materials.
IMPORTANT! AdoptMeApp only recognizes the YouTube URL. No other URLs are recognized. There is a workaround. See the URL section below.
Oh no, I made a mistake! What do I do? (also, I found a mistake)
First of all, don’t panic, There is no mistake that is not fixable.
By far the most common mistake is posting for the wrong pet. This is an easy mistake to make – eventually you will make it (maybe multiple times) so do not fret.
Re-post for the correct pet (you do not have to wait for the mistake to be corrected)
Send an email to customercare@adoptmeapp.org with the subject line something like “I posted for the wrong pet”.
Include info about which wrong pet – shelter name or ID, animal name or hashtag or ID.
We will delete that incorrect post.
That’s it!
What if you see that someone else posted for the wrong pet? Follow steps 2-5 above.
For all other mistakes, just send us an email at customercare@adoptmeapp.org But do not worry about minor mistakes e.g. spelling errors. Unless your spelling error results in a naughty word or the opposite meaning, it’s fine.
Uh oh, I forgot my password
You cannot re-set your password yourself at this time. Email customercare@adoptmeapp.org and we will help you.
How to see all of the AdoptMeApp posts for YOUR shelter, and who posted what
View all of my shelter’s posts How to find out who posted what What is the Twitter account for each shelter?
Each shelter has a diary widget for just their posts.
There is also a widget for ALL of the shelters’ posts.
These widgets can be embedded into any webpage – all of them are here on this blog – look below or on the left in the index. It’s very easy to embed these diary widgets in a blog or on a website. Ask us how to do this.
There is also a real-time list of who posted what for all shelters, and for each shelter (aka User Activity)
Each shelter has its own Twitter account. (If you also have a Twitter account you can set it up so that you get an immediate notification whenever an AdoptMeApp post is made at yours (or any partner) shelter. How to Get Real-time Notifications when an AdoptMeApp Post is Made.
AdoptMeApp All Shelters’ Widget This diary widget has ALL of the AdoptMeApp posts from ALL of the partner shelters. As of 12/30/22 there are nearly 175 THOUSAND POSTS! [175,000!]
All User Postings List This webpage has the user info on who posted what for all shelters. Info includes username, caption, link to photo, pet hashtag*, link to pet profile* (*except for RSPCAQLD)
Inactive due to technical issues with AdoptAPet which is used as shelters’ website display: — Animal Allies Humane Society Widget | User list | Twitter — Fluvanna SPCA AdoptMeApp Widget | User list | Twitter
How many posts can I make a day? For each animal? NO LIMIT, the more the better!
Can I try out AdoptMeApp even if my shelter isn’t a partner yet? YES, install AdoptMeApp and signup for the DEMO shelter
What is the best way to take a photo? Use your creativity! But if there is one technique to master, it’s the ability to crop the photo. Remove extraneous landscape, walls, ceilings, floor, cage bars, cat boxes, etc.
What should I write as the photo caption? Use your creativity! You do not have to put in the animal’s name, we automatically generate that info. Many people post in the voice of the pet, but use whatever style suits you.
Which animals are in the app? All animals that meet the criteria defined by your shelter director/manager. All adoptable animals are in the app including animals in foster care, and for most, but not all, shelters’ “special needs” and “rescue only” animals are also in the app. If you believe an animal is missing, email customercare@adoptmeapp.org.
Why does AdoptMeApp post to Twitter (instead of…)? Our system is designed in a general way and can conceivably interface with ANY other social media system that has an API. However our resources are limited and for a variety of reasons we chose to interface with Twitter first. Some of our longest term shelter partners have thousands of Twitter followers which generates significant traffic to the pet profiles, but Twitter is primarily used as a management tool by Cynthia. Shelter staff or users do not need to pay any attention to Twitter.
How does a new shelter sign up for AdoptMeApp? Email us at cynthiaandrobgroup@kachingle.com. Please include your full name and title, shelter name, url of your shelter website. Subject: AdoptMeApp Inquiry from YOUR SHELTER NAME HERE.
What is the vision of AdoptMeApp? Reduce length of stay by enabling shelter staff, volunteers, and fosters to easily post personality-focused captioned photos and videos that are automatically tweeted and inserted in the shelter’s pet profile.
How many and who are the current AdoptMeApp partner shelters? See adoptmeapp.org for a complete and current list.
What is the business model of AdoptMeApp? AdoptMeApp is a free service run, and funded, entirely by volunteers. Future revenue streams: advertising, sponsorships. AdoptMeApp welcomes any interest from any existing organizations that we might be absorbed by, or merged with.
Who are the people behind AdoptMeApp? Cynthia, Rob, Frank, John, Frederic
How did AdoptMeApp get started? Palo Alto Apps Challenge in 2014
What happens to the link to the pet profile AdoptMeApp (on Twitter) after an animal exits the shelter? This is dependent on the animal management system used by the shelter combined with the decision made by your shelter director/manager. For all shelters but RSPCA* the link in Twitter goes to that pet’s diary residing on AdoptMeApp. If the pet returns to the same shelter and is again made available/adoptable, the diary will reappear with all of the existing entries. Example: Kaine (fostered by Cynthia) (*Currently all RSPCAQld pets that exit the shelter link to a message on their site that says the animal has been adopted.)
How do I sign up for the AdoptMeApp “Appster” Facebook Group?Go here to sign up Note that this FB group is not very active as I (Cynthia) don’t have time to manage it anymore given how many partner shelters we have. However I always post important information there first.
What are the components of the hashtagfor each pet and how can I use getpet dot info to find that pet’s diary? The hashtag is the petname when currently at the shelter or after an exit (if the staff changed the name upon adoption).
getpet.info links to either the pet profile if pet still available or to that pet’s diary on AdoptMeApp if no longer available petname = here it is Scrumptious. If the name is more than one word only the first two words are used. All special characters are not included in the hashtag name. shelter code plus state code = for Chameleon-based partners their 4 letter shelter code is used – here it is CCST – then followed by the state abbreviation – here it is CA. For partners using other AMSs we create our own code for that shelter. number of times that name has been used at this shelter since we partnered. This is the first time this shelter has used the name Scrumptious – therefore the number is 01
Animal Management Systems that Support AdoptMeApp
Chameleon with PetHarbor/24Petconnect website
Chameleon with a custom adoptables website
ShelterBuddy with the ShelterBuddy adoptables website
ShelterBuddy with a custom adoptables website
Shelterluv with a custom adoptables website
The below configurations are not supported because these companies have not technology partnered with us. We would like to partner with them – we are just waiting for them to want to work with us.
Shelterluv with the Shelterluv adoptables website
Petpoint
Adopets
Adopt-A-Pet (as the only adoptables website)
Petfinder ((as the only adoptables website)
all others….
How do I find the status and diary of any animal that is in the AdoptMeApp database?
Go hereand search by name + sheltercode* or animal ID**. If you search by name this must be the name ON EXIT. If the shelter knows the new adopted name, they may use that rather than the previous name the pet was known by in the shelter. Once you bring up the page that has all the pets by that name, search by animal ID (if you have it). If not, find your shelter’s list and drill down to each pet, starting with the most recent (which is at the bottom). More How to Info. *go here to find out your sheltercode – AdoptMeApp All Shelters’ Widget ** if you search by animal ID there is the likelihood your search may bring up an animal(s) in another shelter with the same ID. IDs are only unique within one shelter. However, just pick out your pet by looking at the sheltercode
Known Bugs and Issues: There are a few pretty obscure ones, nothing serious
Bugs: AdoptMeApp
Cannot use new line or carriage return in the text. If you do, everything afterwards will be truncated (not the desired result!)
Only the share url or the shorts url from YouTube can be used in the text. Any other url will cause it and everything afterwards to be truncated (not the desired result!). The way around this if you want to include a non-YouTube url is to type anywebsitenameblahblah.com rather than www.anywebsitenameblahblah. However because this is not recognized by AdoptMeApp as a URL the character count will be equal to the actual number of characters. (Tip: If the url is too long, use tinyurl or bitly to shorten it.)
Every once in a great while an error occurs. We will get an error message but you may or may not. If you believe your post didn’t go through please contact customercare@adoptmeapp.org. This is a very rare occurrence and almost all of these errors are either poor internet connection at your location, or Twitter failed (but the diary entry will be intact).
The favorites feature works but instead of showing the correct species in the preview it show a number (which is our code for that species). However the post is done correctly so just ignore this bug since it is in the app display only.
Bugs: Twitter
Sadly Twitter no longer pulls up all tweets in chronological order. In fact, sometimes clicking on an animal’s hashtag does not bring up any tweets. This is because the animal hashtags are unique and in Twitter’s myopic view of the use of hashtags those that are not used by a lot of different people are not treated properly. So, especially for newly posted animals, their hashtag may not bring up any tweets, even though their tweets exist. Yes, it’s exasperating! Also, you will get the most tweets for a pet hashtag if you click on both “Top” and “Latest”. However you may not get all of the tweets. But do not despair, just click on the getpet.info link in the tweet which will take you to that pet’s complete diary* which has all of the AdoptMeApp posts. Each diary entry also has a link back to the tweet (via the time/date stamp in the top left-hand corner). (*except for RSPCAQld)
Issues: PetHarbor/24Petconnect
Because of the way PetHarbor implemented the news feed (aka RSS feed) that AdoptMeApp uses to find out the animal status, the PetHarbor pages MAY (OR MAY NOT) stay up for about 3 days after an exit. This can be confusing if a direct link is followed and, for example, an animal has been adopted, as the PetHarbor page will not indicate the animal has exited the shelter. This is ONLY an issue if a PetHarbor link is followed. Drilling down through a shelter website will not have this issue as the pet will not be in the shelter view of available animals.
That being said, PetHarbor does have an elegant solution to this issue where they display “adopted” on the PetHarbor page (for those 3 days or so when the pet profile is still accessible). This has only been implemented at Contra Costa County Animal Services as far as we know, we are not sure why it has not been rolled out to all shelters, but if this is something your shelter wants just email customercare@adoptmeapp.org and we will get the ball rolling.
Issues: ShelterBuddy
When a pet is put on a hold and subsequently adopted, the ShelterBuddy pet profile will not show “adopted” as the outcome. It will say no longer available. This is unfortunate as some animals are first put on a hold and then adopted. However this is not easy to fix technically for ShelterBuddy so for now it is what it is.
Partner shelters that use ShelterBuddy as their animal management system, but use AdoptAPet as their web display are no longer able to show the AdoptMeApp widget in the pet profiles. This is because after we implemented, and everything worked, AdoptAPet instituted a policy to not allow javascript on their website. Our diary widget is written in javascript so it has been blocked. We have attempted to discuss with AdoptAPet but since only a very small number of shelters have this configuration they decided our request was unimportant. This also means that NO diary widgets appear in AdoptAPet.org regardless of whether the shelter is Chameleon or ShelterBuddy based.
Issues: Petfinder and AdoptAPet
The AdoptMeApp diary does not appear in either of these websites (although it does appear in PetHarbor.com now 24Petconnect.com for Chameleon-based shelters). At some point, when we have more market clout and a posse of partner shelters we expect to be able to fix this issue. If you want to work with us on this, email cynthia@adoptmeapp.org.
Issues: Mobile Devices
We have seen some obscure problems with unusual mobile devices e.g. Google Pixel (sometimes but not always).
View ALL AdoptMeApp posts from ALL shelters since the beginning of time
AdoptMeApp home page has the All Stories diary widget which has in real-time the posts from all partner shelters.
Here is another version of this all-shelters’ diary widget that aggregates from all partner shelters. A link to this version is also in the left sidebar of this webpage. The sidebar also has links to each shelter’s diary widget. (Links to the shelters’ diary widgets also higher up in this page.) This version has the shelter ID codes.
One more version appears on the homepage tab at the top of the page titled “LIVE feed of every AdoptMeApp post!“. This version also has the shelter ID codes.
In all of the above widgets’ posts there is no direct link to the pet profiles, because these posts appear in each pet’s diary. To get to the actual pet profile click on the timestamp at the top left of the post. That will take you to the tweet. Then click on the getpet dot info link in the tweet.
How to Get Real-time Notifications When an AdoptMeApp Post is Made
It’s simple. You can get either an email or a Twitter notification. Please note: Email notifications are only provided for shelter staff or anyone authorized by shelter staff.
For email notifications let Cynthia know and she will set it up for you. The email that this goes to can be your email, a staff email, a distribution list, anything that looks like an email address.
For Twitter notifications you have to have a Twitter account but you don’t need to ever tweet. Twitter already has the notification capability so we utilize that feature for AdoptMeApp notifications. The “how-to” documentation below is done using the Twitter app on an Android phone but the iPhone and desktop processes should be similar.
Cynthia can set this up for you too if you don’t want to go through the steps below yourself. This capability is mainly for people that already have Twitter accounts.
Create a Twitter account (if you don’t already have one)
Notifications can be on your phone via the Twitter app, SMS, or email (all or some). The description shows phone notifications but the others are similar.
On your Twitter app, click “Settings and privacy” then on “Notifications”.
Click on the type of Notifications that you want. For the purposes of this explanation “Push notifications” is chosen. You can choose 1, 2 or all 3 types of notifications but you have to do them separately. Turn on “Push notifications”.
Search for the account you wish to follow. See above for the name/link to your shelter’s AdoptMeApp Twitter account. For this explanation, the AdoptMeAppDemo shelter’s Twitter account is selected.
Turn on “Following” for that account, then click the bell and choose “All Tweets”.
When an AdoptMeApp post is made for that shelter, a tweet automatically goes out.
You will get an app notification, text message or email depending on what type of notification you selected. This is the app notification.
Click on the notification to see the tweet
Then click on the getpet dot info link to visit that pet’s pet profile
Note that in your settings/notifications screen it will now tell you the Twitter accounts on which you want the notification tweets.
URLs that are NOT YouTube
At this time AdoptMeApp only recognizes YouTube. It does not recognize Instagram, Facebook, TikTok or any other social media, or any links at all (except YouTube).
AdoptMeApp actually removes the links from the post.
There are two workarounds:
1) Take a screenshot & post as a photo. This obviously doesn’t work too well for TikTok but it’s very effective for non-video social media on Instagram & Facebook.
2) Put the url in as text without the leading http://www
1) Do not use any line feeds between the text & the url. Only use a space. AdoptMeApp will handle the necessary text wrapping. I suggest you put the url before the text as this reduces the chance of that error.
2) if the url is still too long, use tinyurl or bitly to shrink it.
Hunk definitely lives by his name. He is quite the hunk! Really well mannered. Leashes amazing and easy to walk with. I mean easy! He stayed next to me the whole time. No tugging no fuss. He’s super mellow and loves treats. Welcomes the hugs and returns them with kisses. He is a dream dog! He’s currently being fostered by a Stanislaus County Animal Shelter volunteer. He’s perfectly assimilated to her home. She has done slow introductions to with her Labrador mixes and they’re
Hunk with Foster Mom Arlene
playing/interacting. He’s a cuddle bug and loves the attention. Good with kids – check out the pictures! He will be a great addition to any home. He is absolutely adorable and attentive. written by Hunk’s Foster Mom Arlene Alexander
Vital statistics: ID when at Stanislaus Animal Services: A497271 | Age ??? | Weight ?
To meet Hunk please contact Arlene at (209) 606-7953
Name: Suki
Species: mixed breed dog
Age: 2 years
Weight: approx 45lbs
Sex: spayed female
Location: Orange County, California
Organization: Animanity Rescue
Contact: Saskia Boisot
Phone: 619 895-0599 (San Diego)
email: sboisot@yahoo.com
Animal ID: 1078
Hi there – I’m an adoptable young dog in foster care in Orange County. I was able to sneak my pet profile in because my foster person is a friend of the founder of AdoptMeApp.
I’m a happy-go-lucky puppy, full of playfulness and life.
I’m very docile, sweet, and good with kids. I like dogs, but no experience yet with cats. I walk easily on the leash, but sometimes I just don’t want to exercise and I sit down. You know what I mean! Exercise isn’t for everyone!
Let’s talk about how cuddly and friendly I am. Be a couch potato partner with me. I won’t complain. All that being said, I am a young pup and very playful and energetic, and despite my sometimes stubborn demeanor regarding physical activity, I do need consistent exercise. Are we a match?
Name: Maverick
Species: mixed breed
Age: 1 year
Weight: approx 65lbs
Sex: neutered male
Location: Orange County, California
Organization: Animanity Rescue
Contact: Saskia Boisot
Phone: 619 895-0599 (San Diego)
email: sboisot@yahoo.com
Animal ID: 1077
Hi there – I’m a real live adoptable young dog in foster care in Orange County. I was able to sneak my pet profile in because my foster person is a friend of the founder of AdoptMeApp.
I’m a happy-go-lucky puppy, full of playfulness and life.
I’m an absolutely adorable boy just over a year old. Big and lanky, but I walk well on my leash. I’m super motivated by food and treats, which means I will be easy to train.
I like other dogs; haven’t had any experience with cats.
Summing it up – I’m just a a great big ball of love, fun, lively, and a couch cuddler too!
You might want to have some experience with large dogs given my size, strength, and puppy enthusiasm.
Name: Blanquito
Species: cat
Age: 3 years
Sex: male
Animal ID: 1076
contact: nancy@onedaydecor.com
Yeah, I’m beautiful and I know it! Hard to believe my former family in Los Altos sold the house and left me behind! I’m social, friendly, litter-box trained and drop-dead handsome. Well, their loss, your gain!
