Juli Settlemire

The cat's gold eyes stared at me, his coat shined midnight black and over-sized incisors protruded from his small mouth. In truth, he kind of resembled a vampire. Meowing, he clamped his fangs together over his lip. He meowed again and rubbed against the metal bars of the holding crate. The Animal Control Officer had picked him up last night in Winthrop, one of the 21-communities that Kennebec Valley Humane Society (KVHS) serves. He had no collar or microchip but from his shiny coat and friendly personality you could tell that he was someone's pet. Sadly, as KVHS's Executive Director Hillary Roberts pointed out, only 2 percent of lost cats are ever reclaimed by their owners.

"It might be something about where we live," Hillary explains. "If a cat goes missing, people assume it got hit by a car or eaten by something in the woods." Unclaimed but not necessarily unwanted.
 

KVHS Executive Director Hillary Roberts and Saint James (who has since been adopted).

Three thousand pets pass through KVHS each year. Seventeen staff members and 125 active volunteers work hard to make sure the animals receive good care, treatment and find forever homes. For this non-profit organization, reaching out via Facebook has made a big difference, not only in adopting out pets but also receiving donations needed to keep the shelter running.

"Facebook's been really helpful with donation requests," Hillary notes. "We made a post in the morning about our microwave breaking and a donor came forward that afternoon with a new microwave."

There is no question that people are on Facebook. From their office PC, laptop or personal cell phone, people are always checking statuses. As an organization or business, it's important to go where your audience is. And the results can be immediate.

"When we were just using a website and email, it might be 24 or 48 hours before we could respond to questions. With Facebook, we can post current news, events and more importantly, answer questions almost immediately," says Hillary.   

Facebook also allows for uploading videos which gives adopters to chance to see a prospective pet "in action."

KVHS requires all dogs to have a behavioral assessment and temperament test before being placed for adoption. "It's hard for people to get a sense of an animal's personality when they're in a pen. It can be very stressful, particularly for dogs that have been at the shelter for a long time. Once you get the dog on a leash or in the play area they can be really different, so we video the dog and post the footage on Facebook," notes Hillary.

"Our adopters also use Facebook to post how their new pet is adjusting. We've been able to get a lot of testimonials and success stories that we can share," she adds.

So adopt some good Facebook habits; post photos, share videos, entertain and educate just like KVHS with their over 2,000 fans.

As for the vampire kitty with the over-sized fangs, well, he's still at KVHS. The staff calls him Simon, and he'll be ready for adoption on November 4th.