On a lovely sunny day, it is at least a couple of hours drive from Sydney just to the causeway. Add at least another three hours on to that if you are going to the city .... and a couple more onto that if you're coming to the valley.
On a day like this, its easy to understand why the adopters aren't flocking to the Cape Breton SPCA. After all, outside of the animal rescue world and the dedicated animal loving community, most of the province has utterly no idea that there is even cause for concern for the animals.
When I was taking my instructor's training to teach at the cooking school, I was amazed to learn that one year after graduation, most people retain less than a third of the course material unless they use it on a regular basis. One third ... and that's the best case scenario.
Nor do people tend to stay current on any issue that doesn't personally engage either their interest or their sympathy. For instance, now that I'm retired and not engaged in the process of planning weddings, I haven't got the foggiest idea what the latest trends are for this years brides.
The original inspiration for the homeless pet site was the realization that most people .... good kind potential adopter kind of people ... have utterly no idea what the available adoption options are in this province. In the course of researching the site, it quickly became evident that many of the hardworking folks engaged in frontline rescue were so darned busy 'wrestling with alligators' that they simply didn't have time to try to 'drain the swamp' by promoting themselves.
At the end of the day, its not realistic to expect the general public to stay abreast of the animal related issues that somehow fly under the radar for all the media outlets in this province. The Herald for instance, will write the occasional article about a horrific case of abuse, such as the brief story about the kitten in this morning's paper Vet cares for kitten found in trash bin .... or a new tidbit about Metro, but generally animal stories are the exception rather than the rule.
Which is a real shame, because the media carries such power. Although I blogged about the cancellation of the Truro prison's Pawsitive training program, it was the presence of the article in the mainstream media that legitimized the story and galvanized reader reaction which in turn resulted in a reversal of things.
At the end of the day, the media reaches all the folks who could be potential adopters but are simply unaware of the issues.
There are so many ways that the media could truly help. Most people for instance have no idea that there is such uneven coverage around the province with respect to all animal rescue, not just the society. I have yet to see an article about responsible pet ownership, dog sports, spay neuter, etc....
Do people know what happens to the cats and dogs that are taken by Animal Control? The media holds a lot of power in its hands.... for instance, once the articles appeared about the dogs being shot by Annapolis County AC, it immediately galvanized concerned citizens to create CAPS. Particularly when AC is govt funded, it would only be appropriate for honest statistics to be publicly available, in just the same way that the society does on their website.
Its not a matter of pointing fingers .... its the only way of pointing out the true scope of the homeless pet problem. And THAT would in turn motivate that ..... what's that I hear ... oh yes the ever so effective sound of Strong Voter Feedback!
It is just a fact of life that its hard to motivate concern for change when people have no sense of the scope of the problem, eh? When most people have never heard of No Kill. When far too many good folks have no idea how many Unhappy Tails are out there.
But, I'm wandering afield here ..... lets get back to Cape Breton. My Dad used to say I should peel the apple in my hand... not the one on the tree. Until that magical day when the media use their powers for the good of the animals, there are things that the Cape Breton SPCA could be doing to promote itself:
- first and foremost, they could use their petfinder listings properly. For the last few weeks, there have only been one dog and a couple of cats listed on their site. All their adoptables should be listed, with the appropriate details that adopters need to know before driving all that way .... is the pet housetrained/ good with kids / other pets/ etc. How old do they estimate the pet is? As we speak there are once again NO LISTINGS : (((
- the Cape Breton SPCA website needs to be updated ..... the information needs to be positive , current and above all needs to let the public know that there is a desperate need for help. If animals are being killed because the adopters aren't there, being honest about it will garner much more help
- use Facebook properly ..... every day animal rescues in the southern states are saving lives by using this important networking tool. If it can inspire the transport of dogs from high kill and gassing shelters to Northern Rescues, just imagine how much help could be found closer to home for the Cape Breton SPCA ?
- Start a shelter blog... talk about the things that are needed... but more importantly, talk about the progress of the animals. Post pictures of pets in need.... of volunteers who make a difference .... of work being done to improve things.
- If the Cape Breton SPCA has a contractual relationship with the CBRM, have them put something on their municipal site like Annapolis County has done for CAPS, http://www.annapoliscounty.ns.ca/administration/animal-control/petweb/index.htm
- Update the Cape Breton SPCA petfinder page. The first thing visitors see is the heading ... Spring 2006, and 2010 is almost here, eh?
What time is it? Its time to understand that until the swamp is drained, everything else is just playing catch up.
No comments:
Post a Comment