Why do adopters come out after media exposure?
Several days ago, I ran a story out of Chicago where a woman had turned her dog loose because she could not have it in her new home. It was outside in the cold and snow of Chicago, being beaten with baseball bats and sticks by children in the neighborhood. The owner was then charged with animal cruelty.
So today the headlines are the number of calls into Animal Services from people who want to adopt Isis. This story reports at least twelve different people have called about adopting the dog. Why? I ask this question each time the media features a case of animal abuse. Why do people come to the front for an animal featured on the news, but not simply to adopt a dog from a local shelter who also needs a home? Can anyone answer that?
I am all for Isis finding a new spot with a family who will cherish her. It is something I would like for all the animals in the welfare system. So since twelve people called and there is only one dog, will the other eleven step up and adopt another shelter dog, just as needy? I doubt it. Experience has shown this doesn't normally happen. Check out the story here.
I once wrote a story about a dog named Banks. His owners had turned him in to the Humane Society and then come back to visit, after lying about who they were and why they were there. They ended up stressing the dog out when they left and making me angry. I wrote about it in the paper and the morning after publication, there were people lined up to adopt him and people calling on the phone. If I remember correctly, some of those folks did end up adopting another animal since Banks went home with a kid who didn't even read the paper, but the numbers of adoptions were not that large. Check out that original story here.
Since the press obviously has that much influence on the readers, maybe we should all be lining up asking for a story a week about a shelter dog or cat. Naw, that isn't going to happen. News holes are tight right now which means there is no excess news space for an article about a pet. The Tampa Tribune just laid off 165 people yesterday, two weeks before Christmas.
So how can we get people to pay attention to all the homeless pets, not just the select few who make headlines? Please send me your suggestions. I would love to know what the answers are, or if there are any answers.
So today the headlines are the number of calls into Animal Services from people who want to adopt Isis. This story reports at least twelve different people have called about adopting the dog. Why? I ask this question each time the media features a case of animal abuse. Why do people come to the front for an animal featured on the news, but not simply to adopt a dog from a local shelter who also needs a home? Can anyone answer that?
I am all for Isis finding a new spot with a family who will cherish her. It is something I would like for all the animals in the welfare system. So since twelve people called and there is only one dog, will the other eleven step up and adopt another shelter dog, just as needy? I doubt it. Experience has shown this doesn't normally happen. Check out the story here.
I once wrote a story about a dog named Banks. His owners had turned him in to the Humane Society and then come back to visit, after lying about who they were and why they were there. They ended up stressing the dog out when they left and making me angry. I wrote about it in the paper and the morning after publication, there were people lined up to adopt him and people calling on the phone. If I remember correctly, some of those folks did end up adopting another animal since Banks went home with a kid who didn't even read the paper, but the numbers of adoptions were not that large. Check out that original story here.
Since the press obviously has that much influence on the readers, maybe we should all be lining up asking for a story a week about a shelter dog or cat. Naw, that isn't going to happen. News holes are tight right now which means there is no excess news space for an article about a pet. The Tampa Tribune just laid off 165 people yesterday, two weeks before Christmas.
So how can we get people to pay attention to all the homeless pets, not just the select few who make headlines? Please send me your suggestions. I would love to know what the answers are, or if there are any answers.
Comments
Here is my guess- people feel their heartstrings tugged because they read something that is "bad" enough to make it to the paper. I really don't think most of the population understand that every animal has a story, some are just worse than others. I like to believe that these people don't step forward just to have a pet with a story to tell their friends and looks like a hero (although I'm sure they are out there). Every good family is a hero to a shelter/rescue and to the animal itself.