Common questions

You answer a few questions about your home, your schedule, and what you’re looking for. We then score each available dog on how well it actually fits, looking at things like energy level, space, the experience needed, and whether it’s good with kids or other pets. You see the reasons behind each match, not just a percentage. It’s a straightforward scoring system, not a black box.

Browse the dogs or take the questionnaire, find one that fits, and send an application. The shelter caring for that dog follows up with you and handles the adoption from there. Forever Home makes the introduction, and the adoption itself is between you and the shelter.

Not to adopt. You can browse dogs, take the questionnaire, and apply for a dog without one. An adopter account is optional, and it lets you save favorites and keep track of the applications you’ve sent. A shelter account is required to list dogs and receive applications.

• You apply from a dog’s profile with your name, email, and an optional message.
• It goes only to the shelter that listed that dog, never to other shelters.
• The shelter can update the status (reviewing, accepted, declined) as it goes.
• Applying doesn’t obligate the shelter to respond, and you can apply for more than one dog.

Register from the sign-up page and enter your organization’s details. New accounts start out pending. You can sign in and set up dog profiles right away, but they stay private until an administrator reviews your registration. Once you’re approved, your dogs appear in browse and matches. “Reviewed” means we checked the details you submitted; it isn’t an independent check of your legal or charitable status.

• Passwords are stored scrambled, never as plain text.
• Your location stays private, and it’s never shown to shelters or other users.
• Shelters only see the applications sent to them, and only the profile fields they choose to publish are public.
• No advertising, no tracking, and only the cookies needed to sign you in. There’s more in the Privacy Policy.

Yes. You can delete your account yourself while you’re signed in. Adopters will find the option on their account page, and shelters on the shelter dashboard. You’ll need to re-enter your current password to confirm.

When you delete your account, your personal account information and any other personal data we don’t need to keep is removed, and any active sign-in sessions are ended.

If you’re an adopter, an application you sent may stay on file for the shelter’s records, but your personal details are redacted from it. If you’re a shelter, your representative and contact information and other private account details are removed. Your organization’s name may stay where it’s needed so existing applications still make sense.

Admin accounts can’t be removed through this self-service option. If you run into trouble deleting your account, reach out through the contact page.

Donations happen on the shelter’s own website. If a shelter has added its donation link, you’ll see a Donate button on its dogs and profile that takes you straight there. Forever Home never processes, receives, or holds any donation money, and doesn’t take a cut. A shelter can also choose to report a donation total on its page — that figure is entered by the shelter and isn’t verified or tracked by us.