Safe Communication

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Communicate With Confidence

Good communication is one of the most important parts of finding the right pet and the right home.

SafewayPets encourages prospective owners and advertisers to ask questions, exchange relevant information and take the time needed to understand each other before making a decision.

Clear communication can prevent misunderstandings, reveal inconsistencies and help both parties decide whether they are comfortable proceeding.

Communicate with confidence — ask questions, understand the pet’s circumstances and keep important conversations together.

Ask Plenty of Questions

If you are interested in a pet, don’t be afraid to ask questions.

Depending on the animal, you may want to ask about:

Age and date of birth
Health and veterinary history
Vaccinations and microchipping
Temperament and behaviour
Diet and daily routine
Living conditions
Parents or background
Registration or pedigree, where applicable
Health testing relevant to the breed
Why the animal is being rehomed

A responsible advertiser should understand why these questions matter.

Advertisers Should Ask Questions Too

Good communication works both ways.

Someone offering a pet a new home may reasonably want to know about the prospective owner’s circumstances, experience and the type of home they can provide.

Questions about your household, other pets, working arrangements or experience with a particular breed or type of animal aren’t necessarily intrusive.

They may simply show that the advertiser cares where the animal is going.

Keep Important Conversations Together

Where possible, use the SafewayPets communication facilities for conversations relating to a listing.

Keeping important discussions together can make it easier to refer back to information supplied by either party.

It may also be useful if questions or concerns arise later.

Avoid moving an important conversation elsewhere simply because somebody pressures you to do so.

Protect Your Personal Information

Communication is important, but that doesn’t mean you should immediately disclose unnecessary personal information.

Be cautious about sharing sensitive information such as passwords, banking security details or copies of documents that aren’t reasonably required.

Never provide passwords, verification codes or other information that could allow somebody to access your accounts.

Look for Consistency

Pay attention to whether the information you receive remains consistent.

If the animal’s age, location, health, registration status, ownership or other important details seem to change during the conversation, ask for clarification.

A genuine mistake can happen, but unexplained inconsistencies deserve further investigation.

Don’t Allow Yourself to Be Pressured

Be cautious if someone tries to rush you into making a payment or decision.

Statements such as another person being ready to pay immediately shouldn’t prevent you from carrying out sensible checks.

You are entitled to take reasonable time to ask questions and decide whether you are comfortable proceeding.

Keep Useful Information

Until everything has been satisfactorily completed, consider keeping relevant messages and information relating to the pet.

This can include the SafewayPets listing number, important statements made by the advertiser, agreed arrangements and payment information.

Having a clear record can help avoid misunderstandings.

If a Conversation Causes Concern

If something said during a conversation makes you uncomfortable, you don’t have to continue.

Stop and consider what has happened.

If appropriate, ask further questions or seek independent confirmation of important information.

If you believe a SafewayPets listing or advertiser may be misleading, suspicious or contrary to our rules, please contact us and provide the listing number, if known, together with relevant details.

Respect Works Both Ways

SafewayPets expects communication between users to remain respectful.

Prospective owners should be able to ask reasonable questions, and responsible advertisers should be able to ask reasonable questions about the home being offered to their animal.

Abusive, threatening, discriminatory or deliberately misleading communication has no place in the SafewayPets community.

Good Communication Protects Everyone

Taking a little more time to communicate can help protect prospective owners, responsible advertisers and, most importantly, the animals themselves.

Ask questions. Keep important information. Don’t be pressured. Speak up if something doesn’t seem right.

Clear communication helps everyone make better decisions.

Communicate with confidence — and always put the welfare of the pet first.