Nearly half a million shelter animals are returned every year in the US
Returns increase intake rates and reduce future shelter adoptions. Behavioral mismatch is the #1 cause of failed adoptions, but this is solvable with better data.
Behavior-based adoption · Nonprofit-founded
Stop losing good matches to bad data
Friendr™ is a web based solution that gives animal shelters the tools to match adopters and pets based on behavioral factors, which are scientifically linked to adopter satisfaction
37%
Increase in adoptions at Friends For Life in the first 6 months of implementation.
25%
More senior pets adopted
20%
Reduction on dog failure adoptions
Better data, better matches, more lives saved.
The challenge
Most shelters are still matching people to animal photos
The data is stark: roughly one in five adopted pets is returned in the first year. Not because people stop caring but because the match was never right.
Existing adoption tools showcase animals by superficial characteristics: breed, age, and weight. What they miss is the behavioral information that actually predicts whether an adoption sticks: energy level, affection style, how an animal behaves around kids, cats, or strangers. That data lives in your shelter — Friendr puts it to work.
The science of "choice paralysis" shows that giving people too many undifferentiated options like scrolling pages of cute animals leads to poor decisions.. Friendr replaces browsing with a guided, structured experience that narrows the field based on what actually matters
Appearance-driven browsing drives impulse, not fit
When looks drive the decision, fit takes a back seat. Adopters pick the animal they love in the moment. Friendr shifts the basis of the match from "cute" to "compatible."
Your staff knowledge about the animals is underutilized
Fosters, intake staff, and teams have behaviour information about each animal. Friendr creates the pipeline that gets that knowledge to adopters at the moment they're deciding.
Our methodology- MAKE
Decades of shelter experience. Backed by peer-reviewed science
“It isn't just animals who benefit from having agency in their choices — adopters benefit too.”
Friendr draws on research by Rosenfeld, Hausenat, and Thomas at Stanford University and the University of New Mexico, applying the concept of disintermediation: removing friction between a person and the right outcome by replacing guesswork with structured, meaningful data.
Combined with Melissa Taylor's decades of hands-on behavior work at Friends For Life, the framework translates cutting-edge behavioral science into a protocol any shelter team can implement without requiring a behavior team.
Every animal in Friendr is scored across 7 behavioral attributes by the intake team and foster carers. The scoring is consistent cross-shelter: a 3/5 for "good with dogs" means the same thing at every shelter on the platform. That shared language is what makes the matches trustworthy.
Melissa Taylor, CBCC-KA, CSB-C
Behavior & Training Manager, Friends For Life Animal Shelter · Creator of the Friendr behavioral framework · Houston, Texas
The 7 attributes empowering every match
- Behavior with dogs
- Behavior with cats
- Behavior with kids
- Energy level
- Affection style
- New people comfort
- House manners
Each behavior attribute is scored on a scale of 1 – 5
- 1Not compatible
- 2Limited experience
- 3With structured intro
- 4Generally friendly
- 5Loves everyone
Scores are collected by intake staff, foster carers, and behavior specialists using your existing shelter system. Friendr provides a guided process to bring that data in — your shelter system stays the source of truth.
How it works
From data entry to forever home
Friendr fits into your existing workflow. No duplicate data entry. Just a behavior-first layer on top of what you already do.
Your team scores animals in your shelter system
Friendr's easy to follow SOP and training modules helps your team rate each animal across all 7 attributes directly in your existing system.
Adopter takes the quiz
A structured questionnaire captures lifestyle, experience, household, and what the adopter actually needs in a companion, not just what looks cute online.
Ranked matches delivered instantly
Friendr compares profiles and generates a personalized match report with compatibility percentages. Adopters arrive knowing exactly who they want to meet.
We see you, shelters
Built by a Shelter for Shelters
We understand limited budgets, stretched teams, and what it costs — emotionally and financially — when an adoption doesn't last. Friendr was designed in a working shelter — not a tech incubator. Every feature was built to fit real workflows, limited staff, and the operational reality of animal welfare organizations.
Works with your existing shelter data
We don't ask your team to start from scratch. Friendr includes a guided process to help shelters bring their existing animal data from their current system — Shelterluv, PetPoint, Chameleon, ShelterBuddy, and others — into Friendr efficiently. Your data, your way.
Analytics that prove your ROI
Preset dashboards show which animals are getting attention (and which aren't), quiz-to-application conversion, top behavioral attributes driving matches, and shelter compliance scores — without custom queries.
Staff training included in every plan
Every tier includes the Friendr behavior framework, self-paced training modules, and pet evaluation templates. Your team gets consistent SOPs that produce reliable behavioral data from day one.
Network effect across shelters
Every shelter that joins Friendr enriches the platform. Cross-shelter demand data reveals what adopters in your community are actually looking for — intelligence no single shelter could generate alone.
No sign-up required for adopters
Potential adopters take the quiz and get their matches: no account, no registration, no personal details required. If they want their results emailed, they can opt in. We don't collect, store, or manage adopter profiles on our platform. Less friction for them, less liability for you.
Shareable by design
Friendr creates personalized matches adopters naturally share on social media, expanding animal visibility far beyond your shelter website.
Success story
Roscoe nearly didn't make it. Then he met Anthony.
Every year, millions of animals enter shelters, but most adoption listings still lead with age, weight, and breed. The information that actually predicts a lasting match — personality, behavioral tendencies, affection style — gets left behind.
When Roscoe arrived at a crowded shelter, his listing said almost nothing about who he was. After weeks with no match, he nearly didn't make it. Then Friends For Life stepped in, enrolled him in Friendr, and built his behavioral profile from scratch.
The data revealed what no photo ever could: Roscoe scored a perfect 5 out of 5 for affection. A Velcro dog through and through.
Anthony used the Friendr quiz knowing exactly what he wanted. Roscoe stood out, not for his looks, but because every attribute aligned with Anthony's life. The first time they met, it was obvious. That was his dog.
“Better data. Lasting matches. More lives saved. That's what Friendr is all about.”
Platform analytics
See what's working. Act on what isn't
Friendr's built-in analytics dashboard gives shelter admins and platform managers the data they need to prove ROI, find overlooked animals, and understand what adopters in their community actually want.
Traffic & quiz funnel
See where adopters come from — social, email, or direct — and how many move from page visit to quiz start to completion to application click. No vanity metrics.
Most and least attention animals
Instantly see which animals are generating matches and which have gone weeks with zero quiz results — so your team can take targeted action before length of stay becomes a crisis.
Behavior gap analysis
Compare what attributes adopters in your community are asking for versus what your current animals actually have. A living insight that helps you plan intake, foster focus, and community outreach.
Profile compliance scoring
Track what percentage of your animals have complete behavioral profiles. The 80% goal is your quality threshold — animals without complete data are flagged and excluded from the quiz automatically.
Built for shelter teams
Everything your team needs.Nothing you don't.
Friendr was designed in a working shelter — not a tech incubator. Every feature was built to fit real workflows, limited staff, and the operational reality of animal welfare organizations.
Standard
For adoption coordinators at small shelters and rescues
$179USD / Monthly
Get startedFeatures
- Friendr behavior framework access
- Self-paced staff training classes
- Pet evaluation templates
- Adopter matching web app
- Up to 30 animals in population
- Up to 20 staff users
Plus
For mid-size shelters with multiple team roles and Shelter system integration
$499USD / Monthly
Get startedFeatures
- Everything in Standard
- Shelter system read integration (Shelterluv and more)
- Up to 100 animals in population
- Up to 50 staff users
- Full analytics dashboard
- Admin roles supported
Premium
For large and municipal shelters with high animal populations
$999USD / Monthly
Get startedFeatures
- Everything in Plus
- In-person onboarding training session
- 200+ animals in population
- Up to 100 staff users
- Priority implementation support
- Built for shelters (450+ avg intake)
Ready to find more Roscoes?
Schedule a 30-minute demo with the Friendr team. We'll show you the platform, check your shelter system compatibility, and find the right plan for your shelter.
Get in touch
Let's get your shelter started
Who we are
Friendr was created inside Friends For Life Animal Shelter — a progressive animal welfare organization of thought leaders in Houston, Texas. We built what we needed, and now we're sharing it with the entire shelter community.
Email us
info@myfriendr.comExperience Friendr as an adopter
See exactly what your adopters will experience.
Take the matching quizGrant eligibility
We offer 5 Standard-tier grants annually to qualifying nonprofit shelters.
Contact us to find out if you qualify.