Welcome Home

New pet coming home?

Let's make it a happy one.

Simple, honest help for the first days and months: advice for the grown-ups, something fun for the kids, and five real pets to show the way.

Who's coming home?

Your new pet's nameType your pet's name: it stays in your browser, and we never see it.

Dog lover getting a cat? Cat lover getting a dog? Sounds like Mixed Company is in your future.

The Welcome Home Map for a new pet

Eight stops from before you say yes to feeling at home. Every pet moves at their own pace, so use it as a guide, not a clock. The full map and every guide live on the Welcome Home page.

Stop 0: for the grown-ups

Before You Say Yes

Before pickup day, settle five things on paper: a vet, a budget, who does what, a helper you can call, and time off for the first days. Write a name beside every job.

Chaco: Vet, money, jobs, a helper, time off. Five things. One list. Look: it groups.

Did you know?

Every pet keeps their own clock. Some settle in days; others need weeks or even months.

Where this fact comes from

For the kids: your job

Help write who does which job, and stick the list on the fridge.

Where are you starting?

Mixed company in your future?A cat and a dog under one roof, or switching sides: our grown-up corner, with a household treaty to print.

We're getting readyFive decisions, then the safe room.They just came homeThe safe room, the open carrier, and why hiding is normal.We have little kidsArm's reach, hands in laps, and let the cat come to them.There's already a petSmell first, meals by a closed door, short looks through a gate.

We're getting readyFive decisions, the quiet room, one family plan.They just came homeThe ride home, the quiet room and calm nights.We have little kidsArm's reach, and games a grown-up runs.There's already a petSmell first, slow hellos, a safe space each.

Is this normal?

Watch the pet, not the calendar

The question every new family asks. A new pet is settling in when they're calm, eating regularly and starting to explore.

CalmResting out in the open, body loose.

EatingEating regularly, not just a bite here and there.

ExploringCurious about the next room, and the one after.

Read the answers families look for

Free to print, with your pet's name

Three favorites here. See all the printables, from the five decisions to the pet-proofing checklist.

No sign-up needed. Everything prints from your own browser, and the reminders go into your own calendar.

Before you say yes

Five decisions on one page: a vet, a budget, who does what, a helper, and time off. Fill it in at the kitchen table before pickup day.

Your Welcome Home Map

Eight stops on one page, with your pet's name at the top. Stick it on the fridge.

Milestones in your calendar

Three gentle reminders, at three days, three weeks and three months, each with a line about that stop. They go into your own calendar, and we never see them.

Saves one calendar file. Nothing is sent to us.

Meet your guides

Five real pets, and each one hosts a stop on the map.

ArmandoGetting ready for a cat, and every hello in the house.

Prince MoReeReading your cat, from under the bed to the slow blink.

ChacoGetting ready, and keeping the routine the same every day.

RoxieThe first night, and letting a new dog come to you.

MoosePlay, and little teeth. Excited about everything, every time.

Cards for a pet coming home

In the works

A New Cat Is Coming

A card for a family about to bring home a cat, with the five things to settle before pickup day inside.

See the cards

In the works

A New Dog Is Coming

The same card for a dog. Every card links back to the free map.

See the cards

Free now

Listen together

Our Next Collar: true history stories told by the pets who were there. For the car ride home.

Listen

For shelters and rescues
Free printable Welcome Home Maps for cats and dogs, for your go-home folders.

Read about it

Coming next: our Welcome Home picture book

A read-aloud picture book, in cat and dog editions, with your new pet's name on every page and a grown-up corner on every spread. We are making it now.

About the book

Why families and shelters can trust it

Reward-based onlyNo alpha, no punishment, no shame. Ever.

Checked by the entire familyEvery tip traced to a source we name, then checked by all of us, with decades of living and working with pets.

Five real petsEvery pet you see is one of ours. See how we make the pictures.

Free to print and shareFor families, and for shelters' go-home folders.

How we work and how we make the pictures