Humane Society of Memphis and Shelby County: Orvis Dog Enrichment Grant Report

How did this grant help your organization and the pets in your care?

The money was used for a Facebook dog-adoption campaign with a "New Year's Resolution" theme that ran over the course of January 2017. A professional photographer took pictures of nine individual dogs in December at a cost of $200. The campaign started on Jan. 1 with three posts made per week for a total of three weeks (Jan. 1-21). Each post was sponsored at $100 to maximize reach. The total cost of the campaign was $1,000 funded by the Petfinder Foundation.

This grant helped us to increase our visibility in the community as a place to adopt animals. The boosted posts increased our reach to nearly 30,000 people per post. We believe this will increase our total adoption numbers, but this must be evaluated at the end of January to see the total effect of the promotion on adoption.

How many pets did this grant help?

Nine specific animals were promoted, and so far, four have been adopted. However, this grant helps all animals at our shelter as it increases the visibility of it as a place to adopt animals.

Please provide a story of one or more specific pets this grant helped.

This is Ophelia, a 1-year-old terrier/pit bull mix. She is a gentle soul and still available for adoption here at the Humane Society of Memphis and Shelby County. Like many here, she has lived through hardships to end up here. She was found on the road with a collar left on too long which was embedded into her neck. It was painful, but she’s on the road to recovery. When she came to us in mid-October, she was very timid and shy. After feeling better and with lots of socialization, she has blossomed into a super bouncy, loving girl who can sit and shake. She will need to use a harness instead of a collar for a while as her neck is still heeling, but she still loves to cuddle and play. Meet Ophelia: www.petfinder.com/petdetail/36921290