# Adoption Returns

Sometimes, for whatever reason, an animal is returned after being adopted. Your data management system can track this return through the **Adoptions** feature.


:::success
**Where do I find it?**

You can find the **Adoptions** page by going to [**Animals > Adoptions**](https://manage.rescuegroups.org/adoptions)**.**

 ![](https://outline-production-attachments.s3-accelerate.amazonaws.com/uploads/48da3d2a-9a3a-434b-824b-a6018154f31c/ce0953de-9713-4fe9-8650-90129f40fb8f/animals%20adoptions.png?X-Amz-Algorithm=AWS4-HMAC-SHA256&X-Amz-Content-Sha256=UNSIGNED-PAYLOAD&X-Amz-Credential=AKIA4EOUDTOVUICLPZ4P%2F20261023%2Fus-east-1%2Fs3%2Faws4_request&X-Amz-Date=20261023T193000Z&X-Amz-Expires=86400&X-Amz-Signature=8fea0a5b2590aa751cf071609233265e9f58b42361ff2e85f0b3b4131f69216f&X-Amz-SignedHeaders=host&x-amz-checksum-mode=ENABLED&x-id=GetObject " =219x233.5")

:::


# Watch a helpful video!

[https://youtu.be/uGHaP4A%5F1lM?si=ERAFhnGRTN5qb2uz](https://youtu.be/uGHaP4A%5F1lM?si=ERAFhnGRTN5qb2uz)

# **Manage returning an animal**

We recommend the following process when an animal is returned to your organization.


1. Change the status on the Animal record itself.
2. If your team uses the [Adoptions](/doc/7a3170cf-73de-48cd-a72b-e4bc96f9cb48) feature, [change the status](https://rescuegroups.getoutline.com/doc/adoption-returns-O7LKEWtQLn#h-change-the-animal-record-status) of the Adoption record itself. 
3. If your team uses the [Adoptions](/doc/7a3170cf-73de-48cd-a72b-e4bc96f9cb48)  feature, you may want to delete the journal entry stating the animal was adopted. This journal entry was automatically added when the Adoption record was completed. If you do not want this journal entry to show up on the Kennel Card report, you may want to delete this entry from the animal's record. This is an optional step to prevent confusion of potential adopters if your team uses the Kennel Card report with Journal Entries. [Journal Entries for Animals](/doc/e0e8836f-9119-4b15-a234-601790e9a950) 

# **Why change the adoption record status instead of deleting it?** 

When an animal is returned after an adoption, rather than deleting the adoption, you can keep a record of all adoptions an animal has had simply by changing the animal's status. There is no need to delete the adoption. When the animal is adopted again, the new adopter information will replace the old adopter information on the animal. If you delete the adoption, your team can lose important point-in-time information about this animal and the specifics about when your care was provided to them, 

## Delete an adoption

If you must do it, you can delete the adoption from the animal's record. From **Animals > Adoptions**, scroll to the adoption you want to delete and click the red "minus" symbol. However, deleting an adoption prevents you from tracking the adoptions an animal might have over time.

 ![](https://outline-production-attachments.s3-accelerate.amazonaws.com/uploads/48da3d2a-9a3a-434b-824b-a6018154f31c/cc732dbf-c4a7-4128-bca9-73b317b276d3/delete%20adoption.png?X-Amz-Algorithm=AWS4-HMAC-SHA256&X-Amz-Content-Sha256=UNSIGNED-PAYLOAD&X-Amz-Credential=AKIA4EOUDTOVUICLPZ4P%2F20261023%2Fus-east-1%2Fs3%2Faws4_request&X-Amz-Date=20261023T193000Z&X-Amz-Expires=86400&X-Amz-Signature=f98b3cbf8b926e3f846f75c7e94904806d50fb64f50b23550f01b0ce6d6fb4bb&X-Amz-SignedHeaders=host&x-amz-checksum-mode=ENABLED&x-id=GetObject " =85x36.5")


:::info
We recommend that you only delete adoptions that were added by mistake. Please consider changing the **status** of the adoption record if an animal is returned to your organization. This allows you to better track intakes and outcomes for your team.

:::

# Change the Animal record status

Update the **Status** field on the Animal record to **Available** or another appropriate animal status:


1. Go to **Animals > Animal List.**
2. Scroll to the animal which was returned.
3. Click the **Edit** icon.
4. Use the drop-down menu to select a new status.  
   ![](https://outline-production-attachments.s3-accelerate.amazonaws.com/uploads/48da3d2a-9a3a-434b-824b-a6018154f31c/09c95a87-3152-44cd-a245-39183d0a99df/Status.png?X-Amz-Algorithm=AWS4-HMAC-SHA256&X-Amz-Content-Sha256=UNSIGNED-PAYLOAD&X-Amz-Credential=AKIA4EOUDTOVUICLPZ4P%2F20261023%2Fus-east-1%2Fs3%2Faws4_request&X-Amz-Date=20261023T193000Z&X-Amz-Expires=86400&X-Amz-Signature=c8897f459e3f3040252351dffb24bbb590845c89225750988bd4a4d258726c89&X-Amz-SignedHeaders=host&x-amz-checksum-mode=ENABLED&x-id=GetObject " =107.5x211.5")  
5. Click **Save**.  
   ![](https://outline-production-attachments.s3-accelerate.amazonaws.com/uploads/48da3d2a-9a3a-434b-824b-a6018154f31c/11834e64-1c45-4237-9e13-64aae4762f68/animal-status-change.png?X-Amz-Algorithm=AWS4-HMAC-SHA256&X-Amz-Content-Sha256=UNSIGNED-PAYLOAD&X-Amz-Credential=AKIA4EOUDTOVUICLPZ4P%2F20261023%2Fus-east-1%2Fs3%2Faws4_request&X-Amz-Date=20261023T193000Z&X-Amz-Expires=86400&X-Amz-Signature=f3f73571d70531062208c047ff47c4d65938f93944304c4af73e2e280d0edd02&X-Amz-SignedHeaders=host&x-amz-checksum-mode=ENABLED&x-id=GetObject " =411x213")  
6. A message displays at the top of the screen stating your changes were saved.

   ![](https://outline-production-attachments.s3-accelerate.amazonaws.com/uploads/48da3d2a-9a3a-434b-824b-a6018154f31c/43f8218b-db9a-4849-bdba-047e70777ccd/animal-status-saved.png?X-Amz-Algorithm=AWS4-HMAC-SHA256&X-Amz-Content-Sha256=UNSIGNED-PAYLOAD&X-Amz-Credential=AKIA4EOUDTOVUICLPZ4P%2F20261023%2Fus-east-1%2Fs3%2Faws4_request&X-Amz-Date=20261023T193000Z&X-Amz-Expires=86400&X-Amz-Signature=af5d2b67f4460ba0e226ec0386c1e19516d1ee62a95bda861cfdddb0ab75531f&X-Amz-SignedHeaders=host&x-amz-checksum-mode=ENABLED&x-id=GetObject " =697x196")

# Change the Adoption record status

In order for you to track the return, change the **Status** of the **Adoption** to **Return** by one of several methods listed below.

## From the Adoptions Data Table


1. Go to **Animals > Animal List.**
2. Scroll to the animal which was returned.
3. Click  the **Edit icon.**  
     
   ![](https://outline-production-attachments.s3-accelerate.amazonaws.com/uploads/48da3d2a-9a3a-434b-824b-a6018154f31c/1693c3aa-1e0a-46bf-b1ba-5d04b2c02429/return.png?X-Amz-Algorithm=AWS4-HMAC-SHA256&X-Amz-Content-Sha256=UNSIGNED-PAYLOAD&X-Amz-Credential=AKIA4EOUDTOVUICLPZ4P%2F20261023%2Fus-east-1%2Fs3%2Faws4_request&X-Amz-Date=20261023T193000Z&X-Amz-Expires=86400&X-Amz-Signature=3bc4afcfb1ec113df98dec708d2b948730a0f6f0d8d7fab8b4ac28cfb121f863&X-Amz-SignedHeaders=host&x-amz-checksum-mode=ENABLED&x-id=GetObject " =494x46")
4. Change status to **Return.**   
   ![](https://outline-production-attachments.s3-accelerate.amazonaws.com/uploads/48da3d2a-9a3a-434b-824b-a6018154f31c/570c8e4e-3706-4cd8-bf97-79647363913b/return_status.png?X-Amz-Algorithm=AWS4-HMAC-SHA256&X-Amz-Content-Sha256=UNSIGNED-PAYLOAD&X-Amz-Credential=AKIA4EOUDTOVUICLPZ4P%2F20261023%2Fus-east-1%2Fs3%2Faws4_request&X-Amz-Date=20261023T193000Z&X-Amz-Expires=86400&X-Amz-Signature=e09ee57d7ee70e2a423d3ea818c1f379574f02f6cb5d5ed90bc7c23c02997818&X-Amz-SignedHeaders=host&x-amz-checksum-mode=ENABLED&x-id=GetObject " =428x448")
5. Click **Save Adoption.**

This process saves the original adoption information and allows you to adopt out the animal again while tracking previous adoptions.

## Search Site to Locate the Animal and Edit the Adoption Record


1. **Enter the animal id, microchip or name** in the **Search Site** box on the left.
2. Click **Go!**  
   ![](https://outline-production-attachments.s3-accelerate.amazonaws.com/uploads/48da3d2a-9a3a-434b-824b-a6018154f31c/391aa5da-d319-43af-a73f-7949a0b0b0d7/search-site.png?X-Amz-Algorithm=AWS4-HMAC-SHA256&X-Amz-Content-Sha256=UNSIGNED-PAYLOAD&X-Amz-Credential=AKIA4EOUDTOVUICLPZ4P%2F20261023%2Fus-east-1%2Fs3%2Faws4_request&X-Amz-Date=20261023T193000Z&X-Amz-Expires=86400&X-Amz-Signature=41a62f5314bee64cc72233bb6d8a77bbae8be7321600698d46dc250c070d72b8&X-Amz-SignedHeaders=host&x-amz-checksum-mode=ENABLED&x-id=GetObject " =165x100")
3. Click the **Name** of the animal. In this example, we click Lola.  
   ![](https://outline-production-attachments.s3-accelerate.amazonaws.com/uploads/48da3d2a-9a3a-434b-824b-a6018154f31c/a45324d0-1e8c-4ae6-92bf-f692c9583cc1/animal-search.png?X-Amz-Algorithm=AWS4-HMAC-SHA256&X-Amz-Content-Sha256=UNSIGNED-PAYLOAD&X-Amz-Credential=AKIA4EOUDTOVUICLPZ4P%2F20261023%2Fus-east-1%2Fs3%2Faws4_request&X-Amz-Date=20261023T193000Z&X-Amz-Expires=86400&X-Amz-Signature=6464a20b9d12e7cace964b87837345482e038a1848526e29cb6030d55da0fc2d&X-Amz-SignedHeaders=host&x-amz-checksum-mode=ENABLED&x-id=GetObject " =685x412")
4. On the next screen, you see links at the top of the animal record.
5. Click the link **Adoptions (1)**. That number indicates there is one adoption for Lola; we will be changing the status of the Adoption record from success to return.  
   ![](https://outline-production-attachments.s3-accelerate.amazonaws.com/uploads/48da3d2a-9a3a-434b-824b-a6018154f31c/04e789e3-5be9-41df-8993-d4743018288f/adoptions-lola.png?X-Amz-Algorithm=AWS4-HMAC-SHA256&X-Amz-Content-Sha256=UNSIGNED-PAYLOAD&X-Amz-Credential=AKIA4EOUDTOVUICLPZ4P%2F20261023%2Fus-east-1%2Fs3%2Faws4_request&X-Amz-Date=20261023T193000Z&X-Amz-Expires=86400&X-Amz-Signature=f662f76b23f2017b5a1ef9af29fef398fcbaed18603aaa8bf148f681615ca9ff&X-Amz-SignedHeaders=host&x-amz-checksum-mode=ENABLED&x-id=GetObject " =682x178")
6. Click the **Edit icon.**   
   ![](https://outline-production-attachments.s3-accelerate.amazonaws.com/uploads/48da3d2a-9a3a-434b-824b-a6018154f31c/4eb02ddf-19f4-489a-a95a-82e87e3ad5f3/adoption-edit.png?X-Amz-Algorithm=AWS4-HMAC-SHA256&X-Amz-Content-Sha256=UNSIGNED-PAYLOAD&X-Amz-Credential=AKIA4EOUDTOVUICLPZ4P%2F20261023%2Fus-east-1%2Fs3%2Faws4_request&X-Amz-Date=20261023T193000Z&X-Amz-Expires=86400&X-Amz-Signature=52a99d27ba8b341ec88a1befced0bf87d77cd8db39c33434f3a8fd5591e8fb41&X-Amz-SignedHeaders=host&x-amz-checksum-mode=ENABLED&x-id=GetObject " =684x283")
7. Change the status of the adoption to **Return.**
8. Click **Save.**  
   ![](https://outline-production-attachments.s3-accelerate.amazonaws.com/uploads/48da3d2a-9a3a-434b-824b-a6018154f31c/1a555c00-56a7-4a7a-beac-2ae4d10c34c5/adoption-return.png?X-Amz-Algorithm=AWS4-HMAC-SHA256&X-Amz-Content-Sha256=UNSIGNED-PAYLOAD&X-Amz-Credential=AKIA4EOUDTOVUICLPZ4P%2F20261023%2Fus-east-1%2Fs3%2Faws4_request&X-Amz-Date=20261023T193000Z&X-Amz-Expires=86400&X-Amz-Signature=5ca0df352a81fb2a29214400c9739ac93dfc76aac5b1a1710b4d29ff9d21875c&X-Amz-SignedHeaders=host&x-amz-checksum-mode=ENABLED&x-id=GetObject " =487x665")  

A message displays notifying you that the adoption was saved. The **Status** of the Adoption record is now **Return**.