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What is Friendr™?
A New Way to Adopt
With so many animals out there to adopt, how do you find the right fit for you? Does scrolling through pages of cute cats and dogs really get you closer to YOUR "furever match?" Science says it does not.
Scrolling can present so many choices it can be overwhelming. "Choice paralysis" is a well-documented phenomenon and if you've ever spent a chunk of your Netflix and chill time looking at trailer after trailer trying to decide, we get you.
So we have created a brand new way to find your Friendr For Life just in time for Valentine's Day!
How It Works
Friendr™ is like the Genius pick for finding a pet. You tell the system a bit about what you want through a scientifically designed questionnaire, and you get a report that shows your likely matches --even down to the percentages! You can use that report to guide your visit to the shelter and prioritize your meet & greets!
Curious About How We Developed Friendr™?
It's backed by science!
Melissa leads a world class behavior program at Friends For Life based on a choice and agency approach to training. She had the idea that it isn't just animals who benefit from having agency in their choices, adopters would benefit too. Friendr™ creates a science-based platform that allows adopters to actively participate in pre-screening the search and streamline the process.
As part of developing Friendr™, we used research by Michael Rosenfeld and Sonia Hausenat of Stanford University, and Reuben Thomas of University of New Mexico, utilizing the concepts of disintermediation. These concepts, combined with decades of experience making lasting adoption matches, helped us craft this groundbreaking new system.
We can't wait for you to try it and we look forward to seeing you (and your Friendr™ list) at the shelter soon!
Melissa Taylor, CBCC-KA, CSB-C is the Behavior and Training Manager at Friends For Life Animal Shelter, a progressive animal welfare organization of thought leaders in Houston, Texas. At FFL, Melissa heads a comprehensive, animal-centered behavior program which includes in-house animal care, community outreach, and inter-shelter consultation.
Maier, S. F., & Seligman, M. E. P. (2016). Learned helplessness at fifty: Insights from neuroscience. Psychological Review, 123(4), 349–367. https://doi.org/10.1037/rev0000033 (https://psycnet.apa.org/doi/10.1037/rev0000033)
Melissa Taylor, CBCC-KA, CSB-C
Friends For Life Behavior & Training Manager