The APDT Chronicle of the Dog Summer 2020 | Page 66

THE TAIL END | DOGS ON ZOOM
DOGS ON ZOOM: Now here’s one virtual
meeting you won’t want to miss!
After weeks and weeks on lockdown due to a global pandemic,
the idea of attending yet another virtual meeting might
seem less lustrous than it did back in March. Well, if you
are interested in adopting a new companion – or a trainer who works
with a shelter or rescue organization -- there’s a Zoom meeting in
your future you won’t want to miss, even after COVID-19 becomes
a topic of the past.
Back in 1996 when PetFinder first hit the internet, it was a gamechanger
in terms of allowing people to find that perfect companion,
whether it was five miles or 250 from your location. Petfinder’s
thousands of shelters and rescue organizations were able to showcase
their animals to reach an audience beyond the Pet of the Week
formats offered by television stations and newspapers. The photos,
however, were static and ranged in quality from portraits taken by
professionals to a blurry cell-phone snap of a wriggly puppy. Since
COVID-19 hit, many shelters and rescue organization have gone
from full to celebrating empty cages.
But the Pedigree Foundation has taken the Petfinder format
and elevated it by offering Zoom meetings to shelters and rescue
organizations that sign up through its MeetYourNewDog.com
website. During these virtual meetings, potential adopters who click
in will see a variety of adoptable pets in their environment, whether
snoozing on a cat tree, wrestling with a toy or staring soulfully up at
the camera peering down into its cage.
As the website explains: “People need dogs in their lives more than
ever, but right now many are unable to visit shelters and fall for the
dogs that so desperately want to be loved. It’s a difficult time for
shelters like yours, and we know you just want to find loving homes
for your animals. So, at the PEDIGREE® brand, we’ve designed a
program that allows people to meet and adopt shelter dogs online
using the popular video calling platform, Zoom.”
Those interested in adopting may enter a Zoom webinar featuring
adoptable animals from the shelter or rescue organization. If they
have a question, they can type it in the Q&A feature and the host
will be available to answer it. If someone wishes to adopt, then they
can click on a button that will take them to an adoption form or
work with shelter/rescue staff via the message feature, the website
states. All shelters/rescue organization have to do is purchase a
Zoom Pro with Webinar subscription ($40 a month), and one host
laptop. For more information, check out the Dogs on Zoom shelter
tool kit The tool kit offers tips on how to best showcase the animals,
from recommended camera distances, stabilization of the cameras
and using toys to keep the pets engaged. There is also a guide and
instructions on how to set up as a host.
Animals adopted through these Zoom meetings will have their
fees paid by Pedigree. Shelters currently signed up for these Dogs
on Zoom adoptions include Connecticut, District of Columbia,
Florida, Louisiana, New Hampshire, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee
and Texas. If you, as a trainer, are working with a shelter or rescue
organization that hasn’t signed up yet for one of these Zoom meetings,
just contact the folks at MeetYourNewDog.com. — The editor
64 Building Better Trainers Through Education
Photo: pedigree.com