A shelter through networking

Spreading messages through social networking websites has made it easier to provide a home for abandoned animals.

Adopting abandoned and homeless animals has now become easier in the city, with social networking websites providing a platform to spread awareness and messages about them. Sites such as Facebook (FB) and Twitter are extensively being used by organisations working towards giving these animals a home.

One of the most active pages on Facebook is that of Friendicoes, which has more than 12,000 likes. The page is updated every few hours with the pictures and information about animals looking for a home.

“Facebook is of great help for spreading the word around for puppies and abandoned dogs looking for homes. Pictures are put up and shared by users, which makes it easier to circulate the information,” says Geeta Seshamani, co-founder, Friendicoes.

“It has become so much easier to find new homes for abandoned pedigreed dogs. We have around 1,500 members on the page. So, if even a few of them share information about homeless animals, it reaches out to many people. Though it becomes very difficult to find homes for Indian dogs, but because of Facebook, we are able to get a home for at least some of the puppies,” says Sheetal Dhillon, who runs the Facebook page of Sai Ashram Dog Adoption located in Chhatarpur.

Another organisation, Red Paws Rescue, has around 4,500 likes on their FB page and also have a Twitter account. For them, social networking has become one of the best mediums for advertisement. They also regularly put videos of dogs looking for homes on YouTube as well. On the other hand, Sanjay Gandhi Animal Care Center has around 866 likes on their FB page.

“Our main source of ads is social networking sites likes Facebook and Twitter. Through these sites, people at least they know that there is somewhere they can go to adopt animals, instead of going to a pet store. A lot of people help with donations and fostering as well,” says Sadhwi Sondhi, from Red Paws Rescue.

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