Social Media and Puppies?

Social Media has been around more than a decade now. Obviously it wasn’t the same as the social media we know today. It started back in the early 2000s with Myspace and MSN (where my 90s babies at?) But after Facebook took over in the late 2000s, these old platforms all became obsolete. Today, we have a much wider range of social media sites like Snapchat, Instagram, Twitter. All of these new social media platforms blew up after the introduction of the smartphone and its “apps.” There are currently about 2.6 billion users on social media today and this number is expected to only go up. Marketers were quick on the draw and saw an opportunity for a new advertising medium for so many different things.

So where do puppies come into this you may be wondering?

Well, many shelters and “adopt don’t shop” enthusiasts have been using social media as a way to get more shelter animals adopted. I, myself have followed the stories of shelter dogs that were struggling for years to find their forever home and after a video was posted on Facebook or Instagram of that dog, it was adopted in weeks! Humane Societies and other shelters create Facebook pages to put pictures and videos out there for people to see and to encourage more people to come in and adopt a new best friend.

For example, The Marin Humane in California posts pictures and videos of dogs and cats looking for new homes, and attaches a link so that potential adopters can see if the animal is still up for adoption. This is a picture of Smee, one of their most recent adoptees.

Facebook pages such as The Dodo or The Pet Collective also post videos from people who have adopted or rescued dogs. Some of my favorite ones are linked below.

Rescue Dogs Who Found Forever Homes

Rescue Dog Barks Like a Seal

Guy Rescues Puppy Abandoned in Canyon

Family Drives Across the Country to Adopt This Pitbull

These social media efforts are the equivalent to those Sarah McLachlan commercials (you know, the one with the sad music and desperate puppy eyes) but are so much more effective. People who follow the stories, or even just see one picture or video, of these dogs (and cats too!) start to feel emotional and even attached to these animals and can’t help but want to give them a better life. It also pulls on people’s heartstrings when they see a video of a dog before and after they have been adopted. From sad and scared in a shelter kennel, to cuddling up with their new family on a couch and going on adventures to the beach. Seeing other people find the perfect dog from a shelter motivates other people to want to as well.

So with all the bad going on in the world, Social Media has definitely benefited shelter animals and makes the world just a little better.

Feel free to share some of your favorite stories or videos of rescued pets!