Our social media platforms are vital to finding good homes for the pets in need at the Aiken County Animal Shelter (ACAS). Through our Facebook, Instagram and other online marketing channels, we can reach thousands of people locally—and all around the country – who are looking to adopt homeless pets.
This ability to post photos of pets with brief descriptions and get their furry faces exposed to thousands of potential adopters is especially critical now, when the shelter is at full capacity and visitor traffic is low. We need to find pets good homes quickly to make room for animals in intake who are waiting for their chance to be on the adoption floor.
Consistent posts of the shelter’s dogs and cats also helps us match pets with adopters who are seeking their particular characteristics. For example, recently the shelter had a gorgeous kitten, Anita, who kept getting passed over by potential adopters. Perhaps it was her timidity that prevented her from being adopted for over a month. Or maybe it was her crying. Or just bad luck. But whatever it was that was holding Anita back didn’t matter once Miranda Gulsby saw her on Facebook. She immediately called the shelter and made an appointment to adopt the kitten. Then she drove five hours roundtrip from her home in Georgia to get her. Anita’s cream coat, shy personality and cherubic face were exactly the traits Miranda was looking for in a kitten.
Social media helps FOTAS tell each homeless pet’s story, but the only way it can reach a vast audience is when people, like you, share the post with your friends. That’s how hound mix Huckleberry got adopted to a woman in Southern Pines, NC. Her friends shared FOTAS’s Facebook post of the handsome hound and one look at Huckleberry’s face convinced Camilla Marion to drive to Aiken with her Basset Hound and meet Huckleberry in person. It took them nearly four hours to get to the shelter, but the journey proved to be successful. Both Camilla and her dog loved Huckleberry, so she adopted him and he left the shelter with a big smile on his face.
These are great social media success stories but there’s so many more shelter pets that need good homes. Like Snyder, an awesome medium-sized dog who loves to fetch tennis balls; Toby, a one-eyed, gray and white kitten; and Blaze, a wonderful, goofy Retriever mix who keeps getting passed over. The list goes on and on. So, please share our social media posts when they show up on your news feed. Each share helps the post reach more people and gives the featured pet a better chance of finding a forever home.
Their lives are in our hands.
— By Bob Gordon, FOTAS Communications Director
