What does human-canine matchmaking actually look like inside a real animal shelter? Watch this episode on YouTube!

In this behind-the-scenes episode, Stacie King visits Burke County Animal Services in Morganton, North Carolina—the first shelter in the nation to pilot the Human-Canine Alliance app.

Director Kaitlin Settlemyre and Operations Manager Stella Adcock walk us through the before: a chaotic kennel walk where kids cried, dogs barked, and potential adopters left without a dog. Then the after: a matchmaking station, a dedicated kennel tech, and a process so intentional that not a single TH-CA match (20+) has been returned.

In this episode:

• Why Burke County closed their kennels to the public — and what happened next
• How human-canine matchmaking gets integrated into an existing shelter workflow
• The “AI” language problem and why they now say matchmaking instead
• What 1,000 dogs euthanized per day and a 20% return rate have to do with better matches
• The results after 90 days: six matches, zero returns

If you work in animal welfare, rescue, or fostering — or you’re simply curious about what the future of dog adoption looks like — this episode is for you.

Burke County Animal Services
📍 636 Kirksey Drive, Morganton, NC
📱 Follow them: @BurkeCountyAnimalServices on Facebook and Instagram

The Human–Canine Alliance is a patent-pending platform that matches people in need with rescue dogs in need using AI-powered compatibility matching and personalized training prescriptions to improve loneliness and isolation and reduce dog euthanasia.

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