Adopivo Manual

The official guide to the Adopivo platform — for adopters as well as shelters and animal welfare organizations. Search the manual, read it online or download it as a PDF.

Version 1.0 · Updated: 11 June 2026

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    The PDF is the official complete document with all chapters of this manual.

    Part B — For Adopters

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    Part C — For Shelters & Animal Welfare Organizations

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    Chapter 1 — About this manual

    This manual describes all features of the Adopivo platform in their currently available form. It is divided into four parts:

    • Part A — Introduction (chapters 1–3, on this page),
    • Part B — For adopters (chapters 4–9, separate page),
    • Part C — For shelters & animal welfare organizations (chapters 10–16, separate page),
    • Part D — Help & legal (chapters 17–21, on this page, including the version history).

    Use the search field above to search all chapters in full text; the results link straight to the matching section. The manual is also available as an official PDF download — version and date are shown at the top of this page and on every page of the PDF. The support team welcomes suggestions for improvement (chapter 19).

    Chapter 2 — What is Adopivo?

    Adopivo is an international contact platform for animals from verified shelters and non-profit animal welfare organizations. Organizations publish animal profiles; interested people search, save favorites and contact the respective organization directly. The platform is available in German, English, Spanish, French and Italian, and is free of charge for adopters and organizations alike.

    Adopivo is purely a contact broker. This means:

    • Adopivo concludes no adoption contracts and is not a broker in the legal sense.
    • Adopivo collects no adoption fees — you arrange those directly with the organization.
    • Adopivo organizes no animal transport.
    • The decision about an adoption rests solely with the respective organization.

    Every organization is verified against country-specific documents before being activated. Commercial breeders and commercial animal dealers are excluded.

    Chapter 3 — How Adopivo works at a glance

    As an adopter:

    1. Discover animals — by place, radius, species, age and size, without an account (chapter 4).
    2. Read animal profiles and save favorites (chapter 6).
    3. Create a free account and confirm your email (chapter 5).
    4. Write to the shelter via the Adopivo inbox (chapter 7).
    5. Arrange everything else — self-disclosure, pre-check, adoption contract, handover — directly with the organization (chapter 9).

    As a shelter or animal welfare organization:

    1. Register your organization and get verified (chapter 10).
    2. Maintain your shelter profile — master data, description, logo, videos (chapter 11).
    3. Create animal profiles and publish them immediately (chapter 12).
    4. Answer inquiries in the team-enabled inbox (chapter 15) — with your team (chapter 14), the Listenhund check (chapter 13) and the widget for your own website (chapter 16).

    Chapter 17 — Frequently asked questions (FAQ)

    For adopters

    Does Adopivo cost anything?

    No. Adopivo is free for adopters — and also for shelters and animal welfare organizations.

    Do I need an account to search for animals?

    No. Searching, reading animal profiles and viewing shelters works without an account. You need one for contacting shelters, the inbox and favorites stored across devices (chapter 5).

    How does the adoption itself work?

    Directly between you and the organization, outside Adopivo: self-disclosure, pre-check or home visit, adoption contract, adoption fee and handover (chapter 9).

    Are the shelters on Adopivo checked?

    Yes. Every organization is verified against country-specific documents before activation; commercial breeders and commercial dealers are excluded (chapter 2).

    Why do I receive a code by email when signing in?

    On a new device, a 6-digit confirmation code protects your account. The device is then trusted for 30 days (chapter 5).

    Why can’t I contact a shelter immediately about a restricted breed?

    For enquiries about restricted dog breeds Adopivo needs your address (for the requirements at your place of residence) and your date of birth (adulthood). Details in chapter 8.

    How do I get a copy of my stored data?

    Via the data export in the settings (GDPR Art. 15) — the download link arrives by email (chapter 5).

    For shelters & animal welfare organizations

    What does Adopivo cost for organizations?

    Using Adopivo is free. Individual extra features are marked as Pro features — for example the widget’s colour customization (chapter 16).

    Do our animal profiles need individual approval?

    No. Once your organization is verified, you publish animal profiles immediately yourself (chapter 12).

    Which documents count for verification?

    Each country has its own document types; one valid proof of non-profit or non-commercial activity is enough — for Germany e.g. the § 11 Animal Welfare Act permit, a register extract or the tax-exemption notice (chapter 10).

    Can several staff members work with the same shelter?

    Yes. Via user management you invite any number of colleagues by email, with the roles Administrator and Member (chapter 14). The inbox is team-enabled (chapter 15).

    Can we show our Adopivo animals on our own website?

    Yes, with the widget — without maintaining anything twice (chapter 16).

    How do we check breed-law requirements for a planned adoption?

    With the Listenhund check: enter the adopter’s place of residence and the breed(s), then run the check (chapter 13).

    Chapter 18 — Glossary

    Display name
    The name under which an organization appears publicly on Adopivo — as opposed to its official (registered) name.
    Verification
    The review of an organization against country-specific proofs of non-profit or non-commercial activity before it can publish animal profiles.
    Self-disclosure
    The organization’s questionnaire about the adopter’s home and life situation — part of the adoption process outside Adopivo.
    Pre-check / home visit
    The organization’s visit to the adopter before the adoption — outside Adopivo.
    Adoption contract
    The contract between organization and adopter about taking over the animal. Adopivo is not a party to it.
    Adoption fee
    The fee the organization charges for the adoption — arranged directly with the organization, never via Adopivo.
    Restricted breed (“Listenhund”)
    A dog breed subject to special requirements under regional regulations. Adopivo shows notes with official source references.
    “Legal text as of”
    The version date of the cited regulation — not to be confused with “Last checked on”, the date of Adopivo’s last verification.
    Adoption radius
    The radius around its location within which an organization adopts an animal out. Outside it, the animal does not appear in search results.
    Bond (bonded adoption)
    A connection between several animals that should only be adopted together, e.g. mother with young.
    Animal status
    Available, Reserved, Adopted, Draft or Archived — maintained by the shelter and visible on the animal profile.
    Token (widget)
    The access key for an organization’s website widget; valid for exactly one domain and to be treated like a password.

    Chapter 19 — Support and contact

    • Questions about the platform or this manual: support@adopivo.com
    • Questions about a specific animal or an ongoing enquiry: directly to the respective organization — ideally via the Adopivo inbox, so the history stays in one place.
    • Privacy requests: datenschutz@adopivo.com
    • Security reports: security@adopivo.com

    Chapter 20 — Legal notes

    This manual describes the platform’s features. The following documents are legally authoritative — in case of deviations they take precedence over the manual:

    Notes on restricted-breed requirements on Adopivo provide information about public regulations and are not legal advice; the linked official sources prevail (chapters 8 and 13).

    Chapter 21 — What’s new & version history

    What’s new in version 1.0?

    Version 1.0 is the first edition of the Adopivo manual, so there are no changes compared to a previous version. From the next version on, this section will list the most important changes as bullet points, each linked to the affected chapter.

    Version history

    • Version 1.0 — 11 June 2026: First edition. Chapters 1–21, full-text search, PDF download in five languages.
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