We spend hours sometimes at shelters looking for pets that are placeable to our standards.  Now by placeable, we mean, they have to pass a multiple of tests. Must be good with other animals (cats & dogs), they can't be food aggressive, and they have to be good with kids.  We also test to see if they are playful, well manner and what past training they have had if any. We will not take a dog for adoption if it cannot pass the test to be social with other dogs or cats.  All our dogs are tested with what we call our tester kitty.  Usually this is a kitten that is not afraid of dogs.  Since we put this poor unsuspected kitten thorough our dog testing we always bring it with us as one of our adoptable pets, since we feel bad it had to be our subject of testing.  Don't worry, we do not put these kittens in danger.  We are very experienced and careful!!!

Our dogs are also tested for how bonded they can become.  We see how much connection they have to people by having them off leash and testing how much interest they have in interacting with us.  This is an extremely important test. This will tell you how easy this dog will be to train and if they are more interested in bonding with us or just out to run and do their own thing.  We take this test very seriously, as it makes our final decision, if we are going to take this pet for placement. If a dog is not interested in us, or showing no signs of interest in what we are doing or wanting, these dogs, in our eyes, are not pets we will adopt.  These dogs can be a potential problem and we avoid this at all cost.
We also test for food aggression.  We have a fake hand that we use ( we like our fingers!). When placing canned food in front of the dog we will see how eager they are, take the food away with our fake hand to check for aggression.  We will do this with other dogs present and 2 food dishes side by side with 2 dogs or in the same dish.  This test is not taken lightly.  We really push buttons so we can be sure before your child or other dog tries to take food from the new family member.
The cats we test sell themselves.  If they know how to "TURN IT ON" we will consider them.  This part is soooooooo hard as there are so many to choose from and so many that are extremely loving.  Some of these cats are in small cages for sometimes up to 6 or 8 months.  These cats do not deserve to live like that but, believe it or not they are not at all resentful or angry.  They will purr and grab for attention in a desperate need to get out of there and find someone that will love and care for them. This is unconditional love!! We cannot take all the cats that are asking so lovingly to go with us.  Some are sick to the point of possible no return or the recovery period is just not feasible for us.  We unfortunately have to make really hard decisions and take the cats and kittens that we know have an edge to  sell themselves in any environment. Cats can be hard to take to adoption events because unless they are out going and comfortable in strange places, they can be really hard to place. So as you see, most of our cats and kittens have wonderful personalities. 

Once we have our crew of homeless pets that are chosen, we do mean a crew since we average taking 4 to 8 dogs, and 6 to 10 cats, we head back to the resort where the real work begins to get everyone ready for adoption!