As we all know, the Internet never sleeps. Those of us who help administer the SPA Facebook pages (both dogs and cats; the pages are separate), know this only too well. Equally many of us liaise with potential adopters via our own websites, such as this one, its French version, or other sites, forums or just with friends. It is a never-ending task, uploading photos and answering questions posed by potential adopters.
However this work is crucial and simply cannot be neglected. Many refuges have internet sites or Facebook pages, and if questions are not answered promptly, we often find that another refuge has been quicker off the mark, and the adopter (who may have his eye on more than one dog or cat) has gone elsewhere.
Sunday is no different to any other day. Moira was hard at it, answering questions, initially by email and then on the phone and a deal was struck. Only problem was that Carole was busy doing exactly the same thing, and for the same dog! So instead of having one set of adopters, little Allyah had two! Carole’s contacts were slightly ahead of the game, so it was a case of wait and see if they liked the dog as much in the flesh as in pictures. I am sure that the fabulous photos taken by Michele helped, as until that point my pathetic efforts had not shown just how tiny and cute this dog was.
As things turned out, though, the first family was a “no show”, and as they didn’t phone to warn Carole, “Moira’s” family has now reserved Allayah. Maybe that is just how things were meant to work out!
Otherwise at the refuge it was a reasonably calm day, one dog arrived and was reclaimed, as he was identified.
Which brings me to my final point of the day, and which knits the two subjects together nicely. The internet is crucial, but so is identification.
To the person who posted onto our Facebook page today trying to home their unwanted but also non-vaccinated and non-identified spaniel, we have spent years building up our 8,000 “likes”, and we did not do so in order for you to give away your unwanted pet. Get him identified and vaccinated at least, before you rehome him, but in any case, our Facebook page is not there for your convenience.