The internet has shifted from a reader's paradise with walls of text and sometimes bizarre-looking websites into image-centric and easy-to-manage content one handpicks or is automatically curated for users. Any animal rights activist or someone who wants animals to find a home only needs social media and search engines to help them find the right avenues. That is only the first step technology helps stray or abused animals find homes.
According to ZDnet, a young self-taught programmer named John Bishop is moved by stories of human owners mourning their lost pets. In 2003, he launched the Pet Rescue service that helped owners connect animals who lost their way from home into new and willing owners and families. As a non-profit, Bishop details that his work was not easy -- especially the enumerated technical aspects in ZDnet's feature -- but he has helped more than 400,000 stray animals find new homes.
Anyone logging into their Facebook and has reacted or shared a photo of a lost dog to raise awareness is automatically exposed to advertisements, groups and pages concerned about the rights of animals and animals looking for adoptive homes. According to Mashable -- the news website citing the Sydney Dogs and Cats Home representative Clair Garth's statement -- the average time of shelter animals is only 10 days after being found thanks to platforms such as Instagram.
Garth added that social media helps to spread the word of animals needing homes. She said the simpel act of tagging a friend on a dog's photo encourages him or her to visit the stray and "before you know it, we're waving goodbye to another happy adopter." The news website cited "Maggie's Rescue" General Manager Lisa Wright as a rebuttal that cats get less funds than those of dogs.
Viral videos featuring animals, such as these bikers stopping traffic to save a dog that jumped out of a car, become immediately viral. Due to the consequence that they raise awareness of the hazards stray animals face while in the city, many rescue groups have used these mediums frequently to aid their quest to help more strays in the world.
