You wouldn’t guess it to look at him, but Ajax has the doggy equivalent to panic attacks. He’s terrified of open spaces, new people and other dogs. But I’m cool with him needing a bit of extra care.


The vet thinks Ajax would benefit from medication and I’ll do whatever it takes to make him well.. er. However, I can’t deny I was disturbed when my vet presented me with an $80 bill for one months supply of an anti-depressant. And they said this would catch on?


Good thing this is only for the term of Ajax’s natural life… five or six years tops (ouch!)


Then today I saw an article in the New York Times that says the real reason people surrender their pets is because they can’t afford vet care.

Buying a pet is only the beginning. The American Pet Products Manufacturers Association asked 580 dog owners and 402 cat owners to record the amount they spent in the last 12 months on specific pet-related items.

The dog owners spent almost $2,000; cat owners about $1,200. If you want a real deal, small animals came in at just under $300.

“With dogs, so much depends on the size and age,” said Bob Vetere, president of the association. Annual costs “can vary from $400 to $500 a year to thousands.”

“If you start worrying about cataracts or tumors, you could get into thousands without breaking a sweat.”

The national average for a veterinarian visit in 2006 was $135 for dogs and $112 for cats, according to the American Veterinary Medical Association.

Far too many people underestimate the cost of raising a dog or cat, Mr. Vetere said, and “I think that’s what fills up shelters.”

“Poor people shouldn’t have pets” I hear you say. Well, I work full time and am not even close to poor, yet this has the ability to sure make things farking hard. I can’t imagine what it would feel like if put in the position of having to choose between petrol for your car or vet care for your dog.


Rescue organise many valuable initiatives in an effort to reduce the number of homeless pets, but low price vet care for owners unable to cover their bills might just be a very noble cause indeed.


Read more:
What I wouldn’t do for my cat
How to say no to your vet

When it comes to getting people’s support, we have to remember that our audience is nothing like us. They’ve not had the same experiences, they don’t have the same information and they don’t feel the same way about animals as we do. In fact how we feel is probably a perfect indicator of exactly how the general public don’t feel.

(photo below from K9wavelength: the demographic of people with an intense interest in dog behaviour; see any trends?)

This isn’t a bad thing – it’s just a thing. And we need to be aware of it.

When we do marketing based on our own motivations we tend to put together campaigns based on saving the lives of death row pets. We say “you have to act to save these pets – there’s hundreds of them and they’ll die if we don’t do something” because that’s what motivates us to take action.

An Upstate animal shelter is sending out mass e-mails of with pictures of animals scheduled for death in hopes of saving some of their lives.

Those who send the e-mails don’t make light of the urgency of the situation. The animals’ days are numbered, and the e-mails make that clear.

Now the group above is getting a positive result with an increase in adoptions (however, any program that involves advertising individual animals on the internet probably would). But, what you don’t see in their numbers is the people turned off by their approach.

Campaigns based on doom and gloom don’t lead to people feeling positive about your group. What you’re actually doing is negative marketing. They will help you, but they won’t feel good about it, they won’t look forward to hearing from you again and their support will be limited. Ongoing messages of this kind (i.e. all the pets going to die today) will leave your supporters feeling helpless; what’s the point trying if the problem is so insurmountable?

Never give depressing messages to your audience or try and guilt them into supporting you. You must focus on the positive: your results and how the support makes a difference. Thank your supporters over and over. By all means tell a story about the plight of your pets, but right next to this negativity needs to be explicit detail on how they can contribute and change things for the better.

Knowing they’re making a positive difference will make your supporters feel good and motivate them to help again.

The sooner we stop pushing people to help because “they have to or dogs will die” and instead focus on making people feel good for being involved and bringing about positive change, the sooner we can start working to build mutually satisfying relationships with our supporters.

There are only two types of people in the world;

Those who will not hear your message include: people who abuse pets, profit motivated breeders and people who have no interest in, or affinity for, pets at all.


Those people who will hear your message include: animal lovers and people who own pets.


So when you interact with your public, be very careful you’re not punishing those who take the time to listen… for the actions of those who never will.

Australian’s love their pets. We have one of the largest rates of ownership in the world with nearly 4 million dogs and 2.5 million cats living as pets in our country.

But why have pets at all?

Well, it’s all a product of the biggest economic boom since World War II colliding with some important social changes. More women delaying having children, more singles, more gay and lesbian couples, more elderly people seeking companionship.

We love them so much that households now spend more on them than on child care. That’s $700 for every man, woman and child every year – 50% more than five years ago.

‘Fur Families’ – ABC’s Background Briefing

But what does this mean for rescue? Well for a starters, lots of fantastic homes!

Bernard Salt: Certainly I do think that by the end of this decade the largest social institution in Australia will be single person households, so that the family, Mum, Dad and the kids, is receding in terms of market share. So less than 28% of households are now Mum, Dad and the kids, whereas by the end of the decade you’ll find that 29% of households are single person households. Now the issue with single person households is that people are looking for companionship and as a consequence, people living singly will include increasingly, pets as their companions. So you could see in Australia, in the next decade, where the fur family, the pet family, actually becomes the dominant social institution in Australia, rather than the human family.

Anecdotally, adoption is most popular amongst people who have owned pets in the past, or currently have a pet. These experienced owners are less intimidated and more able to specify exactly what their needs are and as such make great adoptive parents.

But even great pet parents find themselves looking for a new pet every 10-15 years, as sadly no matter how much we’d like them to, they don’t live forever.

Based on 4 million dogs and 2.5 million cats over 15 years we can conservatively estimate that there will be around half a million new pet homes becoming available every single year. And thanks to changes in the family structure of Australia, this number is growing.

So how are you going to reach them?

xkcd.com - fantastic!

On a recent visit to my local rescue, 12 dogs were looking for a new home 9 of those were black or mostly black.

The consensus amongst the staff was definitely ‘it’s harder to find homes for the black dogs’. In rescue circles this phenomenon is so common it actually has a name; Black Dog Syndrome.

So why the doggy discrimination?

Well firstly, there’s the ‘bad dog’ rap, with the dangerous dog in the movies and on tv, often being black. Add to this the fact it’s often the ‘harder to place breeds’ that are black; the staffies, rotties and dobe mixes (dogs that can look scary to the untrained eye) and you have a negative stereotype that leads to the misconception black dogs are more likely to be aggressive.

Secondly, since there is generally a large number of black dogs in the shelter population, when looking through pens it’s very easy for an adopter to group all the dogs who are black, together in their mind. They think ‘maybe there’s something wrong with that bunch’. While multi-coloured or patchy dogs stand out as an individuals.

Their coats cause other problems too – a few flecks of gray in the muzzle often make black dogs look older than they are. A dog with a lightly brindled coat can look ‘dirty’ when they’re actually not.

And finally, a lack of contrast means often adoring eyes and friendly expressions are hidden. It’s hard to get a good photograph of them and they vanish into the back of poorly lit kennels, making black dogs an invisible exhibit adopters find it hard to connect with.

So what can you do to give black dogs a boost?

 

Let them sparkle

Black dogs have white smiles and sleek shiny coats. They benefit hugely from being out of the kennels and in the sunlight where potential adopters can see them really gleam.

When they’re not outside, be sure their kennels are adequatly lit (natural light works especially well) so that they look their best.
 

Nice to meet you

The best way to break down peoples’ misconceptions about certain breeds is to introduce them to that breed in person. Use your black dogs as your mascots and get them out meeting and greeting.

Work to teach black dogs good manners both in and out of their pens. By being more approachable and giving them ‘tricks’ they can do for people, you give the dog the greatest chance to connect with potential adopters that may have overlooked them otherwise.

Make me look fabulous, darling

Presentation is everything. Keep your black dogs shiny by toweling any dust of them in between washes. Put an attractive coloured, clean collar or bandana on them (rumour has it, red or pink is the best). And when photographing black dogs, use a contrasting background colour (such as a cream couch or white sand).

Beware a black hole

Wherever possible, break groups of black dogs up with coloured dogs in alternating kennels.

Never put large numbers of black dogs together or your adopters will skip over them as a group.

I’m special

With so many black dogs it’s hard to make individuals stand out. Use ‘pet of the week’ spots in local newspapers, posters and online profiles to promote the individual traits of the dog and create a connection with potential adopters.

By being aware of Black Dog Syndrome and taking small steps to combat it, we can make people more aware of our stylish, basic-black companions.

As they say, black is the new black..



See also:
Dogs Today article; ‘Blacklisted’
Big Black Dog Syndrome Podcast

In America they’re debating on whether or not laws should be made to crack down on wearing baggy pants (no pun intended). I’m not joking – in twelve states, ordinances have been passed requiring people to pull up their pants or face fines or jail time.

It’s an issue of respect. It’s an issue of decency. It’s an issue of pants…

Hang on… an issue of pants?

Parents say there’s a correlation between saggy pants, rebellion and bad behaviour – but does that mean there should be laws banning low slung dacks?

In 1956 a performer was banned from dancing during a concert because he was considered a bad influence on young people and his pants – they were too tight. That performer was Elvis Presley;

 

In August 1956, a Florida judge called Presley a “savage” and threatened to arrest him if he shook his body while performing in Jacksonville (Wiki – Controversial King)

 

People turning their own beliefs into moral panic and working to generate laws to enforce their ideals will always be one way to make society change – but it rarely comes without a cost.

By banning Elvis they cemented him as an icon for disobedience and made him a superstar. By enforcing the new rules on pants, the police will need to start punish young people leading to a resentment of authority, making the law system seem superficial and maybe even send undeserving people to jail.

There is a huge difference between converting people, campaigning about issues and showing the community a better way – and creating laws to do try and do the same thing. Enforcing news laws allows you to effect people, but the affect on them will not be a positive one. Punishing people will make them your enemy not your friend.

Compulsory pet sterilisation seems like a good idea; everyone in rescue knows what a giant problem unplanned litters are. But by creating and enforcing new laws we create a giant chasm between them (the public) and us (animal welfare).

We need friends. We need to affect people in a good way. We need to make it easy/fashionable/customary to desex pets and create a society that frowns on people who get into BYBing. But we do none of those things by singling out individuals and punishing them.

No matter how much we hate baggy pants.

You’re the most bona fide rescue group in your area. You know that because you don’t make a cent on any pet you adopt out and all your volunteers work for the love of the animals in your care. That’s how you measure genuine, isn’t it? By how many people you can get who are willing to do things for free?

Huh?

Are you seriously suggesting in order to be great at your job (talented, effective) you must do it for free (love)? And in order to be ethical, you can’t be business minded or want to make a living?

That would sure come as to a surprise to the very talented people working in industries such as nursing or hospice care. And the very effective and ethical people who make up our police force or teach kids. These people do good in the community and are paid for their work. And many would say they should be paid much, much more…

Working for love is a fallacy. Or at least not very attractive or viable for most people. If you want truly talented people, people who are specialists in the areas of marketing and sales and behaviour and vet care… what? You want them to volunteer? No. You want to pay them a reasonable amount so you have them at your disposal so you can have maximum effectiveness.

Stop thinking of yourself as a charity. You’re not. You are a business – and you’re in the business of being effective. You’re an organisation who saves animals who has the ability to be more or less effective depending on your performance.

Don’t be ashamed to want to make money in animal rescue.

If you aren’t already you must start watching Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares (on tonight).

The show in a nutshell; Gordon Ramsay takes restaurants that are struggling, assesses what they are doing wrong (and often where personalities are getting in the way of success) then gives them a plan to turn their failing business into a (hopefully!) profitable one.

The last episode was about a chef in love with a menu that was long, complicated and hard for staff to explain to customers. He also had a giant ego, invested in the payoffs he got from being ‘top dog’ and desperately afraid of change.

So what’s the solution? Well, it’s actually a pretty similar plan each week and could be easily applied to any industry, not just restaurants. And it’s very, very applicable to rescue…

 

First, get real

You can’t fix something if you don’t know why it’s broken. Although obvious to everyone around him, this chef had such large emotional investment the way he ran things, that he was blind to why it wasn’t working. Ramsay took him out into the community and asked the customers exactly what was wrong with the experiences the restaurant provided. Ouch!

Ask your clients, past, present and potential for honest feedback about how they regard you. Ask volunteers for suggestions. But be warned; you must listen to their feedback whether you like what you hear or not. Punishing them for giving you honest criticism is a sure fire way to have them never be honest with you again.

 

Simplify, simplify, simplify!

In an effort to please everyone who came through the door, this restaurant offered a giant, complex menu that make it difficult for the chef to manage and meant they had no real specialty.

In a rescue sense it would be the equivalent to adding pet supplies, dog washing, behavioural training and boarding; and becoming sidetracked from your core business: animal rehoming.

By offering everything under the sun, you become ok at lots of things, but exceptional at none. You have one chance to be top notch. Don’t stuff it up by losing your focus.

 

Set your standards high – then beat them

You can’t do it all. You can however aim to be the best at what you do.

In the show, the cook was busy, so to save time he bought most of his ingredients frozen or premade then claimed to cook them in house. In turn, customers had an ordinary experience and chose to eat elsewhere.

Even if the pace is hectic, realise that to succeed you have to treat all your clients like gold. Work with them to meet their needs and never lie or make misrepresentations because when you are found out, your clients will stop trusting you and your image will be ruined.

 

Tell the right story

Every business tells a story. This restaurant was untidy, the staff disorganised and the food, average. The story they told their customers was “we really don’t care”.

What story are you telling? “We are competent professionals who you can trust with what we know is a big decision for you”. Or is it another story entirely?

 

Get an attitude adjustment

Often the chefs on Ramsay’s show have been failing so long, they’ve forgotten what it feels like to be successful. They’ve lost their passion. But then having a famous celebrity chef storm in, help out and believe in them, is the shot in the arm they need to reclaim a love of their work.

Now you might not be able to call on Ramsay to help you with that whiney co-worker that makes life unbearable, or the seemingly never ending supply of kittens that drains you, but you do have to find a way to find your passion again.

Look for inspiration outside the rescue industry (as often people inside are tapped out) or form a group of similar minded POSITIVE people who can give you props.

Loss of passion = loss of motivation… and is absolutely a killer.

 

Be the bigger man

Ramsay shows the restaurant staff where they are going wrong and calls them on every single misconception they have. But, as soon as they ’start to see the light’ and are willing to get on board, he is their biggest champion. He gives them tools to succeed and supports them 100%.

Don’t make it hard for the people around you to admit when they’ve been proven wrong, because if the cost to them rejoining the team is to swollow pride, then they likely won’t come back.

 

What would Ramsay do?

I think we can all benefit from sometimes taking a step back and asking “what would Ramsay do?”.

I suspect the answer might just be “%^!* that off – lets do it better”.

Seth Godin wrote a fantastic post on the forces of mediocrity which in part says;

 

There’s a myth that all you need to do is outline your vision and prove it’s right—then, quite suddenly, people will line up and support you.

In fact, the opposite is true.

 

We’ve all experienced it. Once a great initiative is recognised, the antagonists creep out to start picking away, putting up obstacles and hanging out for each mistake.

We all know who they are. Motivated by their own agendas they agitate and angle to maintain the status quo. It might be the long termer who has lost faith in people and is scared to try anything new or the controlling manager who takes offense at the suggestion at there might be a better way than the way it’s always been done. Whatever their motivation is to shoot you down try not to take it personally – it’s not you, it’s them. And more often than not, they’re just afraid of change.

But you must not accept it either.

Find people who are receptive your plan and work to build networks to support you. Find examples where your idea has worked in the past for others and learn everything you can from them. Recognise what the objections will most likely be and work out how to diffuse them. Then put your head down and work to make it happen.

But, and probably most importantly, don’t make it hard for the naysayers to change their minds – you don’t want pride to get in the way of them getting on board.

While it may be overwhelming and feel like the forces resisting you, run too deep to ever achieve change, just starting your own quest to be remarkable, you will find you generate momentum. There will be people who believe in the value of your ideas.

Leading the way and pursuing your path in the face of opposition is the toughest task in the world. But you can’t let those championing the mediocre stop you.