Innovating Pet Adoption: Liz Adams' Journey with Pet Protect and Connect

Pet Protect and Connect: Using AI to Simplify Pet Adoption for Shelters, Rescues and Adopters

Host Julie Marty Pearson welcomes Liz Adams to The Story of My Pet podcast to discuss Liz’s longtime background in animal rescue and her career in healthcare technology and communications, which inspired her to create Pet Protect and Connect. Liz explains how shelters and rescues often lack time and modern tools, and how difficult or inconsistent adoption processes can deter good adopters while still risking poor matches and returns. 

Her platform, Pet Protect and Connect, focuses first on helping rescues by organizing and ranking applications using weighted criteria and an AI-driven learning component that highlights top positives/negatives and produces match scores, while keeping humans in control of final decisions. The tool can also help adopters by auto-populating repeat applications via a plugin and keeping qualified adopters in the system for future matches. Listeners can learn more or request demos on the Pet Protect and Connect Website or via the app and website waitlist. Follow them on Facebook and Instagram. You can also learn more about Kenway's Cause in Hartford, CT via their Website and Facebook Page.

00:31 Liz Pet Background
02:28 Tech Career Journey
04:40 Rescue Epiphany Moment
07:04 Why Shelters Need Tech
11:21 Fixing Adoption Barriers
15:26 AI Matching Platform
19:50 Adopter Experience Tools
27:36 Education and Badges Idea
29:17 How Rescues Get Started
31:49 How Adopters Join In

Transcript

Julie Marty-Pearson 0:00

Hello, my friends and fellow animal lovers. Welcome to a brand new episode of The Story of My Pet podcast. I am your host, as always, Julie Marty Pearson, and I am happy to be here today to bring you some new stories of amazing pets and some amazing new tech things happening that will benefit animal shelters and rescues. So welcome to the podcast, Liz Adams. Thank you so much for being here.

Liz Adams 0:28

Yeah. Thank you so much for having me.

Julie Marty-Pearson 0:31

I am excited for us to delve into all the things that we have talked about together before now, but I always love to start out with my guests asking about you and your own fur family. So did you grow up with pets? Have you always been an animal lover? I have. I think when I was born, my parents had something like six pets between the two of them. So I've always had dogs and cats in my life. Then I also, as I got a little bit older, I was a 4-H-er, if anyone knows what 4-H is. I was very much into horseback riding and horses, and horses really carried me through most of my those awful years of preteen, teenage life. And I still ride as much as I can, even though I don't have my own horse. And now I have... it's been an interesting year. I started the year with five pets. I am down to three. But my three that are still with me are Baby and Dexter, who you probably can't see 'cause I think they're on the floor hiding, and they're my two puppies. I call them puppies, but they're 12 and 13. And, um, and my cat, Suchang. So they are all still here. Love it. Yep. I can see one right behind you. He looks like he's chewing on something. Oh, that's Dexter. Yes, yes. You know, we always love it when our pets make appearances, you know? That's why people are here on the podcast. I love that. You know, you mentioned 4-H, and where I live in California in Central California, there's a lot of agriculture, so I was never in 4-H, but I knew, had a lot of friends that were, so there's, it's very active here. So I totally knew what you meant when you said that. And yeah, you know, I love people who love all sorts of animals and get their connection from different, animals and how they help you growing up. My dogs, ugh, I don't, I would, can't even imagine growing up without the dogs I got to have. So I understand what you mean with horses and all of that. That's amazing. So I would say your love of animals is kind of the reason why the work that you do now has happened. But before we talk about, specifically about what you're doing that helps animals what is your career? What has been your career that kind of connects those two pieces together? So my, my background, my day job, if you'd like to call it a day job but I, I work in technology. I work in healthcare technology. And I've always been a marketer, communicator. So I've always worked in, like, I've always straddled those two spaces of, like, digital technology and marketing and communications. And now for the last, I have been full-time with the same company for over nine years now, but my last couple of roles, one was focused on the internal IT side of the business, and um, I'm shifting over to the- What they call global technology, which is the product technology side. So technology has always been something that I've been interested in or tied to. I've just been lucky enough to be able to pull my communications background together with my love of all digital and tech. I'm dating myself, but way back when taking on websites and the first website a company had, things like that, that's kind of where I played when I first started I would say after college. I think we all have lots of jobs even before college or if we didn't go to college. It was not my first job, but my first after college. That's kind of where I focused, and then it just grew from there. I love that. I love it when we get to do things we love to do that also get to be our careers, right? You know. I used to work in higher ed, and I used to teach, which I still love teaching, but I don't do it as much in that sense anymore. And, I think that then when we can use those skills and do it in a different way with something else we love, like animals, which is kinda like what I do with this podcast, it fulfills something else in us beyond our, quote, day job. And so at what point did you decide that you wanted to use your tech skill and knowledge to do something to help animals, to help shelters in your community as well as, as in other places? So I would say technically the idea for what I'm doing now, it was two years ago I had an epiphany. I have been in the animal rescue space, though, for I'd say it's been about 20 years now. So animal rescue, shelters, um, I've worked in municipal shelters. I've worked with private rescues. I've done the fundraising. I've done fostering. I've done all of those things. But in addition to my day job, I also have, I think the world has side hustles now. So I do marketing and communication consulting for smaller businesses, and one of the startups I was working with, I was helping out at a trade show. And it was their first, it was their second trade show. It was focused on a mom audience. It was a lot of mompreneurs, a lot of, like, it, that was the audience there, and those were technically most of the vendors. And while I was there and talking to these different vendors and- Like learning about the things that they did and the companies they built and what they put together, I was like, "I wanna do this." And then I was like, "Wait, I think I know how I can do this. I think I know what I want to do." And it was kind of like a little, a little light bulb moment. And I'm based in the Northeast, so the event was in, in New York, in the city, and when I was taking the train back, it was like it all kind of just came to me as I was thinking on the train ride back home, I love that. Yeah, you know, I think... I think in our economy, we all have side hustles because we can't afford things without them. Yep. But yeah, I think, as women with other interests and passions, we always are kind of coming up with new ideas and new way to connect what we love to do, but with other parts of our world. Like you said, you've been in the animal world, fostering and working and all of that, which is great. S- and so I love that it kind of, you know, working with other people kind of spurred this idea of, "Wait, I could be doing something like this, too, but in my own way." And, you know, it's so great when we get to do that, but then also help others in that process, right? Yes. So what we've been talking about, like we're trying to be elusive or something. We're not. We're just Not at all. So your current side hustle project that we're here to talk about is called, I wanna make sure I get it right, Pet, Protect, and Connect. So where did this idea start versus where it is now? So it started because I was actually, at my day job, we were working on launching a lot of internal AI and gen AI solutions for the organization. And it was, that was about three years ago, and even that, in general, that field has changed, and it's changing so fast. Right. So I was working on a lot of tools there. We were also incorporating at that same company that I was talking about where I was doing the event, is an AI first company. So even though that's not, it's not a tech company, we use a lot of AI technology to do a lot of things and operationalize a lot of things. So what I was thinking of was in the animal rescue space, there's so many... A lot of things are clunky. Like, a lot of things are just, it's hard to get things done. And I think it's not always been like a tech first kind of space. It's not necessarily... A lot of the folks that I've met, like, embracing technology is not where they're gonna go first to kind of make their lives easier and get more pets visibility, more pets adopted. That's not, like, where they naturally go to. Right so my thought was, like, if you could take tech and take emerging tech that's coming with AI, gen AI, and all the tools that are out there, they're actually really easy to use, and they're getting easier for non-tech people to use every day. Yeah. If you could take that and apply it to the problem of overpopulation, animal adoption, animal welfare, like you could make a bigger difference, just make a bigger difference in that community. And it- it's a problem. Like- I think, I'm in the Northeast, and there's a perception that up here, like, oh, animal welfare is great. There's all no-kill shelters, all of this. Everybody I talk to, and myself included, like, I've never seen it as bad as it is for animals today, and that's in, Connecticut and New England, where everyone thinks it's kind of all rosy in Fairfield County. So- it's just getting worse. So if you could take a technology and apply it to make something better, like, I'm all for it. So I wanted to bring those two things together. So the pla- That makes so much sense, because, the rescues I know or have been involved with in some way or, and the shelter I've worked at, tech is definitely not on the forefront. Even the tech they have is, you know, put together and whatever's been donated or, you know, our county shelters, whatever they get, they You know, all the computers are old, even the basic stuff. Mm-hmm. Um, and tech is advancing so fast. I mean, I feel like every month there's something new. Even the tools I use for podcasting are evolving constantly. And so yeah, I could see where you could see, like, it's not being utilized really well at all, and there's so many ways we could do it, but then it's like, how do you converge those two worlds in a way that isn't gonna take a lot of effort and time? Which I think that's why a lot of rescues and shelters don't utilize tech, is they just don't have time to do it, to set it up or figure it out, or even create the systems with it, right? Yes. I think 100%, that's when you know, you talk to a shelter, anyone involved, they're like, "I don't have time to learn something new, to put something new together. I have- Right like, this influx of pets that I have to go save." And all of these emergencies 24/7. The last thing they wanna look at is like, oh, technology I'm not gonna understand that you wanna try to make me use. They're like no thank you." Right. Well, and even, so many of them, I know some nonprofits and rescues that are asking for volunteers just to run their social media accounts, let alone doing anything outside of that. You know, and a lot of them don't even have websites or things, 'cause even in my own business, that takes time to build and update and, you know, in rescue, there's so many things they could be doing, and really, their focus is the animals. So kind of where did the idea of Pet Connect I don't know why I keep saying it, Pet Protect and Connect start in terms of this idea as an app or a we- a web-based solution for rescues to utilize in terms of finding homes, finding fosters, or those sorts of things? So my first, like, where it first came from was when I do talk to people, like, there's people in my world who I know who will still breed their dogs, will still buy from breeders, will still even go to pet stores to buy pets. Like, and when you talk to them, and they know what I do, and some of them are family sometimes, they know what I do, and they're like, "I just can't deal with the adoption process." Or I had, um, you know, I had my aunt and uncle who, I mean, to come back to life as one of their dogs would be, like, the most amazing thing in the world, and they were denied multiple times over and over from rescues because they didn't have a fenced-in yard. Like, there's all of these, the process is either very difficult or just perceived to be very difficult, and that's a, that's a barrier to getting pets who deserve homes into homes. So I was like, what could we do to make that process as easy as possible? 'Cause if you can make the adoption process easier, you can get more adopters. But at the same time, I've been on the other end where I've processed, like, hundreds of applications for different rescues. I've seen what's happened to pets who get placed into the wrong homes. Worst ca- or best case, it's just they get returned. Worst case, they end up in things that I've just, I won't talk about. You- Yeah, no. I, I totally get it, because you know, I worked at one of my shelters for a while and one of the hardest things was, you know, that shelter sees such a huge volume, and there are so many animals, especially dogs, being euthanized because of space, let alone because of behavior or any of those other reasons, that, they're just trying to get the animals out, back out the door and into homes. But because of that, what I saw was, and I don't even, I don't know the numbers, but so often we'd be out and we'd get a dogs adopted on the weekends at events, and then Monday, Tuesday we'd get texts from the shelter, "Oh, so and so's back. Oh, so and so's back." And so there's the other side of it, too, when we're just trying to get them into homes, then there's such a huge return rate because they're not educated on how to help a dog adjust to a new home, and one or two nights is not gonna do it, guys. You've gotta give them time. And also, you know, breed specifics and behaviors, and don't adopt a dog based on looks because you have to know what they need, and if they need exercise and activity and, a yard like you said. But then there's the flip side of that. Some of the rescues make the adoption application process very strenuous, and they have to do home visits and they have to do X, Y, Z, and like you said, it can be very hard to even get to the point of adopting. And so obviously there needs to be a happy middle ground, but- It's also people just doing the best they can with the resources they have, right? Yeah. Yep. And I think- I would say 99% of the time my experience too is, like, doing the best they can or what they think is the best they can for the animals they have. Right. They're not just making these decisions because they feel like it. Something has happened in the past that makes a rescue not want to adopt or do things a certain way. So I completely understand that part too. Absolutely. So that's why it's like it doesn't have to just be easier for the adopter, but it has to be, um, the process should be easier for the rescues and shelters as well. Right. How can you make it easier on both sides? Because if you can make it more efficient and easier on both sides, should be a more positive outcome overall, right? So. Absolutely, yeah. And like you said, you know, a lot of the smaller rescues or even shelters don't even have time to look at the applications or the process. They're just trying, you know, to survive with the animals they're taking care of and making sure everybody's taken care of. But, you know, there has to be a process in place for us to even have a starting point. So kind of where did you start with creating a tool to help with these processes? So I did actually start on the rescue side, not the adopter side. And thinking there has to be a way to not automate the entire application process or re- application review process, but how do, how can you automate some parts? So what I looked at was there were the applications that I processed, and then I looked at probably a dozen other rescues or more, and there was a lot of... I know a lot of rescues are very much "Our application is the best. We can only use ours. Nobody else asks it the way we do." I get that. Um, but I looked for those what are the commonalities across all of those intake applications or applications in general. They're also on a whole bunch of different platforms. You know, like some are- Right Google Forms, some are PDFs, some are still paper, some are actual, so they're all over the place there too. But if you could take it in and apply, like, a logic and a ranking system to the questions that are being asked and then the responses that are coming in from the adopters on either side. So looking at that, and then also just my own experience processing applications and then seeing different outcomes. Applying, pretty much it's just applying a weighted formula to question and answer. So there's, there's 40-some odd characteristics that the back end of the tool will look at and see- Mm like for example, you have a pet, I'll say... I always say dog. I know cats are out there too, but I always say dog. Right. You have a dog who has medical needs- Mm-hmm and you want to get them into the right home. They might not be the best dog for a first-time adopter or somebody who's had no experience. So there's a couple questions like, have you had pets before? How many? Did they have any of these conditions? Are you experienced with medical needs? So the back end of the system will look at that and qualify those things- Mm-hmm um, as it's processing, and then it pulls that information together And then the AI, so that's really just a formula. That's not even the AI part. And then the AI is, it starts to learn from what are good matches, which ones get approved, which ones don't get approved, that kind of thing. And it pulls all that information together. This is where, like, this is where my skills end and the, the developers begin. They can explain this much better, but it pulls all those things together, and it gives a score of, like, this is a 95% match. This is an 85% match. And then it highlights, like, the top positives and the top negatives so that somebody, instead of having to scan through every single application- they'll get, here are the best matches for this pet. Because there, there might be people who are good adopters, just not for the pet that they're looking to adopt, or vice versa. Right. It, it pul- Well, and I love this because I'm just visualizing it, that, it's definitely the step beyond of even having an automated appl- application process. Like you said, a lot of rescues have a Google form or a form built into their website, and that just collects the information. But the rescue or the shelter still has to review it and figure out and make matches, and sometimes, like you said, it's dozens or hundreds of applications they're looking at at a time. So this is taking all of the information and then analyzing it for them to give them the top info from each person based on what pet and all of that. It sounds like it's, like, taking a lot of the work out of the process for at least for a part of it. Yeah. And not, also, like, to be really clear, it doesn't take the human out of the process. Like, there is still a person at the other end who- Right makes final decisions and things like that. It just helps sort all of that information for the people who are in the, the rescues doing that work. Right. 'Cause most of the time they're volunteers, and they're also fostering dogs, have their own dogs, have their own two jobs, have all their other things in life going on. Yes. Yeah, and, and that's, I think, part of the big problem is, you know, I've, I've seen from inside shelters they don't even have time to answer their voicemails, let alone weed through all of this and that. And also, like you said, you can be in an adoption event, and there's many different organizations. Some have paper, some have electronic, you know, or a combination. And so it also sounds like this is a good way to kind of compile information as well. Yeah. Yeah. And I know, I mean, I know enough to know that a rescue isn't going to necessarily take this and use it to replace their applications. I mean- Right they can. They could if they wanted to, but I know a lot would be hesitant to do that. So, like, on the other side, too, for adopters, if you've ever, I think, I feel like- The one that I use as an example is if you apply for jobs and, you know, there's a, you fill out the entire application and then it's like, "Okay, great, here's the second application. Fill it out again." Right. That c- that may still be a thing, but we also developed an API plugin so that for the adopters it's looking at the fields that people input in the system. Hmm. And then use, they can use, the adopters can use that plugin, like, if they have to go through and the rescue's like, "Okay, now fill it out on our side again." They can use the plugin and it'll auto-populate the application for them. So that's- That's nice. Yeah. Yeah. They kind of alleviate some, uh, some of the additional work. But yeah, I, because they all have their own systems and so they need certain information in their systems, but it sounds like a lot of what this would do for them, this software, this tool, will help them with understanding the best matches and then also they don't have to have every match fill out the full application if they're not seeing that they're the right fit for the animals they currently have in their care. They could get re- you know, referred to another organization. And I know we talk a lot about here about people wanting specific breeds or sub, specific looks, and one of the things I always say to people, 'cause yeah, I still know people who buy and breed, no matter what they learn about the overpopulation crisis. And the truth of the matter is you can pretty much find every breed in a rescue or shelter situation because of the overpopulation, because of breeders who don't take care of them or give up and dump them. And so they could be referred to, "Well, if you really want this type of dog, go to the doodle rescue, or do the, Golden Retriever rescues." Out- there are so many rescues out there that are breed-specific because they know those dogs well and they can do a better job of finding them homes. So it's also kind of like you're building a tool that helps with that connection process. Yeah, that, 'cause that was one thing I noticed. One of the smaller rescues that I worked for, we would have great adopters in the system, but if they applied for a certain pet and then they didn't end up adopting that pet there was no way to track them again. Like- Mm-hmm no one put them top of mind for the next one. So this- Right what the platform can do is, like, that'll still be in there floating around, and until you say, like, "Yes, I've adopted," they'll still come up as a match. So if a new pet comes into their organization and this person- Mm-hmm hasn't adopted yet, they'll still get shown that, that match or that connection, so it doesn't get, like, lost in the shuffle as you go forward. I love that, 'cause it's kind of like, I mean, you could use different examples, a dating service, or I have, uh, software tools I use for podcast guesting and hosting that matches podcasts with guests. And it's the same thing. Every, you know, few days there's new matches, and if I say not right now or pass, then they use that information for better matches down the line. So it kinda sounds like that's what this tool is. If someone applies for a certain animal at a certain rescue and that's not the best match and they don't end up adopting, they're still in the system where they could be matched with other dogs that maybe they are a better fit with. Yeah. And that's actually how I've described it on the adopter side. It's like a dating tool for pets and people. Like- I love that. I think it's great, yeah. Well, and I think there are other tools out there like, Petfinder and things like that, but that's more of just finding the animal someone thinks they want or they think would be a good fit. And so where this platform steps in is, okay, you think this is what you would like to have in your fur family, fill this out so we can see if you really are a good fit. It's kind of like that next step. Yeah. It looks more at, like, lifestyle and background and experience, not just, you know, size, age, distance from me. Done. Right. Yeah, because there are a lot of things, you know, one of the reasons we don't currently have any dogs in our family is because we have a very small yard, and that small yard has even less grass space, and that grass space has become my husband's garden. So yes, we could have a dog. We just know they wouldn't have a lot of space to run around and get exercise, especially if it was a bigger dog. So it's one of the reasons we haven't adopted a dog and we've stayed with the other pets we have. But that doesn't mean I don't want one, and there might be a right fit at some point. But it is important for people to understand, and that doesn't mean you can't have a big dog in a small yard or even no yard. You just have to know that there's a certain amount of exercise you have to make sure they're getting. And there is that, what I have found is that education piece for the adopters, whe- especially if they've never adopted before, it's a much bigger piece of education. But even so, just for any of us, uh, bringing in a new animal into our home is what does this animal need and how do we do that with respect to our schedule and our time and the space that we have access to? Yeah, I think that's really important. And I think people, like especially people who don't have as much experience with they, with pets, they underestimate the effort that it takes. I think, I can't remember who it was, but somebody in my life at some point was like, "It's like I'm having a baby again." I'm like, when they, when they took in a puppy, they were like, "I have to get them shots and more shots?" I'm like yeah." Yeah. That's kind of the basics. Yeah. That's what you do. Oh, yeah. When I, when, our youngest pupkin is one of six that was a litter that I fostered. My husband did help some, but I was the one that brought them home. And I joke, but it was literally a full-time job because we got them at two weeks, so they were bottle babies, and there were six of them. And by the time you went to number six, number one was hungry again. And so at the time, I could do that. I was in transition with some of the things I was doing, and I had the time to do it. It was exhausting, but you know, it, well worth the effort, and Pumpkin is now a part of our family. But I've been wanting to foster again, but I have that experience in my h- mind, and I'm like, "There's no way I could do that with everything I do now," right? And I know I could go get a single kitten or an older kitten or something and bring them in, and hopefully I will do that soon. But yeah, it is really being aware of what it's gonna take. And I think what we're both saying is no matter what animal, age, size you adopt, it takes time. You have to help them adjust. You have to spend time with them. You have to bond with them. And if you already have pets, that takes time. We have an outside cat that I've been thinking might be wanting to come inside, and one night he did, and my cats were so stressed out. I realized that this is not the right fit because he's an older cat, and they're just not okay. And even if it were to work, it would take a lot of time for everyone to adjust. And I think that's why there are so many animals in need because people don't realize they need to do that or have the time to do that. And so this platform is really gonna help with some of that at least, at least finding the right fits, and it's also asking adopters questions that's gonna make them realize, "Oh, I don't, I didn't know I needed to think about what, XYZ." And whether it's medical care or exercise or, you know, what kind of food, there's just so many things to think about. And so it sounds like you're really building this platform to take all of that into consideration. Yeah. And one thing that I've been thinking about lately too is once I get this next iteration up and off the ground is, is there a way to put almost like quick tests or education or pre-qualifiers or something that people can take on the adopter side while they're filling out or while they're waiting, and then they could have, I don't know if it would be verified badges or something along those lines so that- The rescues could see like, oh, they went through this process and they understand or at least learned this or saw this information before they took this step up. Yeah. I love that idea. Kind of like their first stop in the platform is, okay, you're gonna take this 10 question quiz to see how ready are you to adopt a dog or adopt a cat. You know, and so there could be, it's kind of qualifiers, and if they say yes or they answer certain questions or watch videos or it could be, you know, a variety of things. I love that idea because, like we've said, there could be a badge for dogs, a badge for cats, or a badge for medical, or a badge for fostering. And so there could be a lot of ways that would help rescues get information without them having to be the one to ask the 20 questions. Yeah. Yes. One of my favorites is always the vet references when you're processing applications. Like, you call the vet and they're like, "Well, we can't, we can't give you that information. You have to call them." And then you're like- Right playing an entire phone tag just to get the, yes, this person has had dogs and they take them to the vet check, you know? Take that piece off of the process, that would probably help. Things like that. Absolutely. Like you said, you're in a iteration, you're updating it, you've gotten a lot of feedback on the initial version of it, and so you're making updates. And so in this process, as we're talking about this and people are learning about it, let's start with if someone is listening and they either work or volunteer in a rescue or a shelter and they think this platform would be a good fit for them, what would be their steps to get involved or to test it out for their organization? So there's two. You can go to the website, it's petprotectandconnect.com, and there's a button for rescues, and you could fill out There's a form and if they fill it out, we put together a custom demo for them so that they could see what their information or the pets that they have now, what it would look like on their end in the system, and see if it's something that makes sense or works for them. Because I have learned that trying to explain it to people without having something in front of them to see, it's it's not quite clicking. So if they wanna see their actual rescue's information in the system and how it would work, they could fill out it shouldn't take them more than a minute to fill out the questions, and then they'll get a, a custom demo, or they could just reach out to me. My, all of my contact information is on the website, too, and I'm happy to talk to anyone one-on-one. They could just reach out directly. Great. And really, you want the more rescues and shelters, the better, because not only do you know that you're getting them set up for this use of this tool and helping them, but the more rescues and shelters that utilize the platform gives you even more feedback to make it better, right? Exactly. Yes. 'Cause without the feedback, we can only do, we can only do so much. So I am looking for as many rescues as possible. I would just love if you're willing to, like, share your information, work with, you know, work with us so that we can just continue to improve the platform, because I really wanna make something a tool that people would use, not something that's like, "Okay, that's a nice idea. That's great. I played with it for a few," and move on. Right. Like, I wanna make it something that's actually useful and not a waste of time for anybody on either side. Yeah, and as you said before, especially because of the AI kind of matching part of it people don't always understand that you need to use it for it to get better, and the more you use it, the better it gets and the more refined it gets. So makes sense you're saying, "We want as many rescues in as possible," because the tool's just gonna get better and better with more uses. And so if you are a rescue, if you know a rescue, volunteer with one that you think might benefit from testing this out, again, the link is petprotectandconnect.com, and we will have that in the show notes as well. Now, for those of you out there listening who are potential adopters, have been thinking about adopting, you're thinking, "Oh, this would be a cool tool for me to put my information and see, you know, what I learn," what would be the steps for someone like that? So they can do the same. There is So the first version of this was an app. There will still be an app-based version, but shifting to a web-based platform first. As one of my very brilliant, I've had two interns this year, and one of them said, "It's a big screen thing." Filling out the application- Yeah doing all those things first, big screen thing. And then, you know, once you're in there, it'll be easier to work with on an app. So first version was app-based first. So you can still go to the App Store. You could download the app there and put your information in. Or if you want to wait for the next version of the platform to come out you could go to the website and sign up for the wait list and get the information there. Although, like you said we're actually, I'm testing it with the developers today, so by the time this show is up, it may already be live. So they would just go to the website. That's a good place to start either way. And, um- Right they can access the platform from there, whether it's the new version or the web b- or the mobile-based version that's out there right now. Okay, great. Yeah, I have a feeling by the time this episode gets out that the website version will be up, which will be great. But if you're listening to this and you're not sure, just go to petprotectandconnect.com, whether you're a rescue or an potential adopter, and you'll find the most, you'll find the latest version for you to use. And it makes sense to me. You know, I'm thinking of even job applications I've done, or even when I'm buying stuff, there are certain times where you want the web version. You wanna be able to type it in easier and copy and paste stuff, right? Uh, so it makes sense that the feedback you got was a web version is good, but then the app is more of management and searching and things like that. But it's also great you're gonna be offering both options because sometimes I would imagine, especially I know when I was helping with adoption events, we had a tablet and we used that for a lot of things. But it was also limiting because tablets only let you put in information a certain way, right? But when you're out at an event or outside of a, office setting, it's nice to have that mobile version, too. Yeah. And like you said, I think once people, rescues on their side and adopters on their side, once the information's in the tool, then they can just go to the app because they're not They're more looking at that point and clicking- Right versus inputting information and bigger tasks, I guess. Or setting themselves up, whether they're a rescue or an adopter. You know, you wanna start there, and then the app version will make it easier, especially for adopters if they're continuing to search or looking at new matches. Makes them easier for them to do that whenever they want to. I have to say that this sounds like an amazing tool, and I love that you're really utilizing your experience working with rescues, but also having a variety of rescues come in and utilize the platform and give you feedback so that you can make it the best tool possible for those using it. From everything I've heard and learned myself, I, that's the best way to do it. Because every rescue is unique- Mm-hmm every pet is unique, and every adopter is. You're really kind of trying to help all of that uniqueness come together and find the best matches all the way around. Yeah, definitely. So again, if you're listening and you wanna learn more, go to petprotectandconnect.com. You can contact Liz via the website or, find all the information there as well. You're hap- be happy to reach out to me if you have questions and you're not sure about something. But I'm just so glad, Liz, that we connected and got to meet each other, and I got to learn about this work that you're doing, because I could see how it's gonna be beneficial for so many different organizations. And so I just appreciate your time being here, but also I appreciate w- the time you're utilizing for your own self to create this tool and, and help rescues, you know, really utilize it to help them find more pets their homes. Thank you so much for having me. I know it's been, it's been a little while, but I love what you do, so I'm so excited I got to, got to come on and talk to you. Absolutely. Thank you. Thank you so much for listening to this episode of The Story of My Pet podcast. I appreciate you listening and supporting the podcast. And if you haven't already, wherever you are listening to this episode, make sure you hit follow or subscribe and leave us a rating or review. All of that helps the podcast grow and get to even more listeners, and help us educate and advocate for animals in need around the world. If you haven't done so already, make sure to check out our new YouTube channel, Story of My Pet Podcast. Again, hit the subscribe button, give us some likes and comments on our videos, and that will help the podcast grow thank you so much for being here, and much love to you and your pet