As my first blog experience, I have definitely learned a lot about my topic and about blogging in general. When I first chose my topic, dogs and rescue animals, I originally thought that I would make my blog more general and about all aspects of dogs. However as I began reading the blog requirements and questions each week I decided to make it more about the problem of animal shelters and rescue animal awareness. This topic meant a lot to me as my family rescued a puppy last summer, right before he was going to be euthanized, as a 4-month-old puppy. After adopting Charlie, it really opened my eyes about rescue animals and what some of them after to endure and made me think about all the rescue animals that didn't have the second chance that Charlie was given. Before researching for my blog, I was not aware of the conditions and atmosphere that most shelters across the globe had. I learned that a lot of animals get euthanized due to becoming "too dangerous to adopt" but they become this way FROM living in the animal shelters. Dogs are brought to animal shelters and then since they are put in kennels and have little human interaction, they become scared and feel like they can not trust humans as they are the ones that put them in the kennels so they become aggressive as they are scared for what might happen and then they get put down. It is an unfair, viscous circle that could easily be preventable if more people were aware of the conditions and something could be done to change them. What I would like to know more about is what is being done or in the process of being done to try and actually change something, there is so much information online about how awful shelters are for animals but I did not find a good solution yet for this problem. To keep involved with this topic, I will keep sharing my own story about adopting a rescue animal to save a life and spread awareness. I will also the story of the woman who saved Charlie and what she does for tons of animals to show the passion and the huge difference one person can do. My love for dogs is indescribably and hope for one day this issue be put to rest so all animals live long healthy lives without abuse, neglect and abandonment, but unfortunately we have a long way to go. www.peta.org/issues/companion-animal-issues/animal-shelters/ www.nbcnews.com/id/35880984/ns/health-pet_health/t/animal-shelter-turned-house-horrors/ www.rescueme.org (site that we found Charlie on) My inspirations for this blog! Buster (right) and Charlie (left).... B&C :)
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Before starting this class, I did not know too much about blogging as I had never had one but I had quite a few friends that have had one. Most of the blogs my friends had done were temporary blogs about their study abroad or mission trips which I thought was a good idea and a fun way to share their experiences with everyone so they can follow along their journey's. I also know people who have started their own fashion and travel blogs to share their passions with everyone. As I started my blog for this class I was excited because we got to choose whatever topic we want. However I felt like as I wrote more and more blogs I felt like i started to get a little repetitive with my topics and information. But I think this is just because I am not actually involved in my topic, we are just speculating in our blogs. I would be interested in making an actual blog about a vacation or trip because i would be actively experiencing new things and would have a lot to blog about each day. I love the aspect of having everything documented in one place and designing the layout and vibes of my own website. I also have learned you have to be very dedicated if you want to start up a blog and keep it updated and interesting which I can see being challenging to keep your readers interested. Overall I love the idea of blogging but you have to keep it up and be passionate and unique to draw people in which I do not think I am that great at yet but I will for sure keep trying.
For my topic, it is hard to think about what kind of advertising we could do in the future to get more people involved and more people helping out. I think it really depends on place to place and the local animal shelters in your area. However as I am active on social media I can see what advertisements people will actually stop and watch and the ones people just scroll past. You need to tailor your advertisement to something people will actually want to watch and share with all of their friends and followers. I know it should not be that hard to get people to help these poor animals but unfortunately it is a bigger problem that people even know. Today we are a very social media and technological driven which is why TV commercials in these days are one of the least effective forms of advertisements. Coming from my personal opinion, people enjoy watching success story videos, heartfelt videos or tragic stories. Those are the kind of stories people share and the ones that build awareness. I feel like this is what we need to start making more of for the issue of animal shelters and homeless animals. So if I was an account manager, I would suggest to create videos and/or a picture message that people will actually stop and watch, almost an entertainment factor. It is upsetting that people will not watch them anyway because this is such a growing problem but unfortunately that is the way the world works. Luckily there are so many amazing stories about dogs and animals who have been saved and who's lives have completely turned around and there are still millions of animals who need help. I think there are very creative and interesting ways we could approach this. And in a perfect world hopefully we could get the word out there and ultimately get it to a national level to get some new guidelines and rules in place for animal shelters and animal cruelty. With enough support and awareness, we can make a change.
My topic is a little complicated to advertise differently than how it has been done in the past. I would say some of the most successful advertisements about dog and animal shelters have been very emotional and heartfelt. The most successful one I have seen is the one everyone knows where the lady is talking over music and they are showing pictures and videos of sad, abandoned and starving animals using a tearjerker method. However over the past few years I feel like people are more likely to switch the channel when it comes on because they know it makes them sad instead of the commercial actually promoting people to go and help those animals. Also in this day and age, the world is so technologically savvy that there are so many more and efficient ways to advertise. For example all of the new social media platforms make way for a lot of different mediums to raise awareness for animal shelters. To get to the younger generation using social media applications such as Snapchat, Instagram and twitter are great because you are even able to see the reactions to your post and physically see your post being shared and viewed so you know you are moving forward. Whereas with a TV ad you do not know if people are even paying attention. With this technologically climbing society it is beneficial to keep up with the changes and I think it would be very beneficial for us to spread awareness about this issue and people can start voicing their opinions.
www.nielsen.com/us/en/insights/news/2014/mobile-millennials-over-85-percent-of-generation-y-owns-smartphones.html www.usatoday.com/story/money/2015/06/24/nielsen-q1-media-consumption-study/29233619/ This post will touch on a lot of the topics I have already discussed in my blog. The person I admire most in my topic would be the women who we adopted my dog Charlie from. In my past blog posts I have talked a lot about her, her, story and company goals, this is because she is my main inspiration and reason why I chose this topic for my blog. To reiterate her story, she is a single women who lives on a farm and her passion and her company is to save animals who are about to be euthanized. She does not do it just for dogs and cats but she also save alpacas, llamas, goats AND sheep. She has a company called "11th Hour Animal Rescue" and runs it through a Facebook page. One thing that makes her even more selfless is that you would think she would be quite wealthy being able to adopt so many pets, however she is not, instead of buying herself nice things, clothes etc. she chooses to use her money to save more and more animals. She also takes who she lets adopt the pets very very seriously. When my family applied to adopt my dog Charlie, she was very thorough in asking about us and wanted to meet us all to make sure that all her pets do not go through another hardship and find a loving family and a forever home. I admire her so much because of how selfless she is, as I have mentioned before she once cleared out a animal shelter and brought home 32 dogs because she could not leave any behind. Her company strives to "We are dedicated to the rescue of animals that would otherwise face a certain death in high kill shelters across the nation." She drove all the way out to Idaho to pick up my dog Charlie before he was going to be euthanized and she's done it many times for other animals. I am so glad I got to take part in her company and get to know her and her story, and I am so happy I get to share her story with everyone else. There needs to be more people like her in the world.
www.facebook.com/11th-Hour-Animal-Rescue-and-Sanctuary-263851886981192/about/ (about) www.facebook.com/11th-Hour-Animal-Rescue-and-Sanctuary-263851886981192/?hc_ref=PAGES_TIMELINE&fref=nf (home) As I was researching on my topic I came across a few different campaigns that have to do with dog shelters but one in particular stood out to me. The campaign is called "Clear The Shelters" and it caught my eye because the title corresponds really well with my goal for my blog, to help shelter animals find forever homes. The campaign took place in summer 2016 and was able to find homes for 45,000 shelter animals. Their description states "Nearly 700 shelters across the country are teaming up with NBC Owned Television Stations and Telemundo for Clear the Shelters, a nationwide pet adoption drive". In 2015 over 20,00 pets found homes and they are increasing that number each year. This nationwide campaign gets everyone across the country involved and then we are able to produce so much more impact with the more people involved. That's what sets this campaign apart from other ones, instead of just one shelter trying to make a difference in one place, this one gets all shelters to come together to create a powerful message and find so many more animals forever homes which make the world of difference for those pets. In the campaign their goal was to unite as many shelters to help get pets adopted and also spread awareness about the real truth of animal shelters. As I have talked about in my previous posts, there is a lot of cruelty and hygiene issues that a lot of shelters have such as overcrowding etc. Clear the Shelters is exactly what we should be doing everyday, millions of pets are still homeless or are abandoned and defenseless out in the world and are being euthanized for no reason.
www.cleartheshelters.com/ www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/national-international/Animal-Lovers-Across-the-Country-Prepare-to-Clear-the-Shelters-387877752.html The most influential person in my topic would have to be the lady who we adopted our rescue dog from. I talked about her in my blog posts at the very beginning, she is one of the most selfless person I know. This woman lives on a farm and what she does is adopt animals who are on death row and then sets up an adoption right out of her own backyard. She has dogs and cats, all the way to alpacas and sheep. She has given so many animals a second chance at life, including my dog, Charlie. She has even kept some of the dogs who have not been adopted and calls them her own. What makes her such a big influence on this animal shelter issue? Well one time she went in to an animal and came home with 32 dogs, every dog in the shelter. She did this out of the kindness of her own heart, uses her own money to give these animal's a life. She runs her little business all through a Facebook page and posts pictures of the dog's she's rescued. What sets her apart from others is that she also provides information and education about responsible care and the cruel environments that we can help make better. An overview on her website states: "We are a 100% volunteer based rescue organization which strives to save animals from being euthanized by providing awareness and education of animal overpopulation, unnecessary animal experimentation and to help teach responsible guardianship to pet owners. All donations are used to directly benefit animals who are in urgent need. Every animal that comes to our safe haven is treated as part of our... family and are very well socialized and cared for. " This is why her company stands out the most to me, they might not be the most well known company like the National Humane Society, however what she is doing is actually doing something about this problem and constantly making animal's lives better instead of only just spreading awareness.
www.facebook.com/11th-Hour-Animal-Rescue-and-Sanctuary-263851886981192/ 11thhourrescue.rescueme.org/ Pictures below is her website where she markets all of her business through/ an example of one her posts and also the picture of my dog Charlie on the death row website before he was rescued. Snowballing off my last post there are a million reasons why you should get a shelter pet but here are the main top 10 rewarding reasons why I think you should:
1. Number one, you will save a life. Shelter animals will be euthanized if they are not adopted soon enough. 2. Shelter anxiety, pets who spend way too long in shelters more then likely will develop aggressive traits and tendencies due to being isolated from humans and being stuck in kennels. Soon after, animals will be "too dangerous for adoption" and then euthanized. 3. All animals are amazing, you are guaranteed a great animal, all shelter animals just want to be loved and to find their forever home. 4. Shelter animals are way less expensive than animals from breeders, they also come with their shots and are already spayed or neutered or the shelter will cover the costs. 5. Most shelter animals are already house, crate and potty trained. This is arguably one of the hardest parts in adjusting to a new pet at home, so the hard work has already been done for you! 6. Pets are an amazing companion, you will be loved unconditionally. 7. It is one step closer to a better shelter care system for animals. If you adopt a shelter pet, you are another person who can share your success story with the world. You can talk about how rewarding it feels to save a life and how you can spread awareness to save many more lives as well. 8. Pets keep you active. Dogs can encourage a healthy lifestyle by keeping you active and might even explore places and meet people you never would have met. 9. You get to spread awareness and information about shelter pets and support your local shelter. 10. Lastly you get to give a homeless animal a forever home. There are a couple quotes that I absolutely think capture my feeling and the topic of my blog: "You can't change a dog's past, but you can rewrite their future!" "Saving one dog won't save the world, but surely for the one dog, the world will change forever." www.peta.org/living/companion-animals/8-reasons-adopt-buy-dogs/ bestfriends.org/resources/reasons-adopt-pet The problem is that animal shelters across the country are in poor condition and are constantly overcrowded. My audio clip is a list of reasons why you should adopt a shelter pet and how rewarding it is. First off there are 2.7 million shelter pets each year who get euthanized due to not being adopted. This number is so high because so many people prefer to spend thousands of dollars in buying pets from breeders. This is fine (we bought my first dog from a breeder) but people will wait and wait until breeders come out with new puppies when there are millions of dogs always ready to adopt. Also breeder puppies are always in a lovely home and often live with a family so they are so much better off. Another reason is price, shelters will often include all vaccinations and spay/ neuter fees in with the adoption fee, and most likely the shelter dogs are already spayed or neutered. Next, you adopting a pet will open a spot in a shelter for another pet and decrease its chances of getting euthanized due to having no where to put them. As I have said in previous posts, shelter conditions are not good at all and some shelters are "factory style" where they are all in unclean, cramped quarters where a lot of them get sick. Lastly, and this is probably the most important reason, is that not only will you give a homeless pet a forever home and change their whole world but you save their life.
humanesociety.org www.almosthomerescue.org/whyrescue/whyrescue.htm www.animalleague.org/expert-advice/adoption/articles/why-adopt.html Link to audio clip: soundcloud.com/hslater-210388267/blog-post-7/s-1OzTg When choosing my favorite advertisement I discovered that there are so many different sorts of advertisements for animal shelters. I noticed that some advertisements were trying to reel you in by using different techniques. For example one of the most well-known commercials is the one where there is a slideshow of super sad looking dogs in shelter cages with a woman talking over about saving abused and abandoned dogs. There were millions of super sad images for advertisements that I found when I searched however I wanted to find a different approach. I chose the ad below because it incorporated some humor along with a powerful message. The ad shows a very happy looking dog and I love how it focuses on the feeling the dog gets after they get adopted and the impact you make on them if you adopt them. I feel like most animal ads use a guilt trip method by showing how upset and miserable the dogs are in the shelter which I agree has an effect on people however I feel like seeing happy and rejuvenated animals would be more effective. I also love how in the advertisement they used a "quote from the dog" to add some personal aspect to it for people to relate to. The advertisement came from "The Shelter Pet Project" which is another organization striving for a better life for shelter pets. They have many ad campaigns shedding a very positive light on shelter adoption. Lastly their motto "A person is the best thing to happen to a shelter pet" completely aligns with the whole topic of my blog. That is what I want to engrave in people's minds, humans are literally a pet's whole life.
theshelterpetproject.org/ www.animalsheltering.org/programs/shelter-pet-project staging.theshelterpetproject.org/about-pet-adoption |
AuthorHarriet Slater Archives
December 2016
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