I am in Anne O’Neill’s Integrated Marketing Campaign Development class. Every year she reaches out to nonprofit organizations in the area looking for help with advertising and marketing, and as a class we choose one organization.
This year, we chose to create an advertising campaign for Because You Care, one of the only 100 percent no kill animal shelters in the Western Pennsylvania area. The animals are treated with respect and they focus on helping the cats and dogs that are strays.
It is set up as a foster system. The animals are rescued, and if there appears to be no obvious health risks, the cat or dog is put into a foster home. The foster homes allow the animals to adapt to living with other cats and dogs in a house environment.
There is no time limit on how long the cat or dog can stay within the system, but if it has potential to be adopted it is taken out of the foster home and brought to the adoption center.
However, if a cat or dog is rescued and has injuries or diseases that could be potentially contagious to other foster animals, Because You Care will take it to a veterinarian and have it looked after. Instead of the alternative of just killing it like other shelters would, such as the ANNA shelter and the Humane Society of Northwestern Pennsylvania.
Now, this adoption center sounds amazing. Our class is going to visit it Thursday and I am very excited. There are two centers – one for cats and one for dogs – and they are surrounded by three acres of land.
The cat adoption center is set up like a house. It has no cages, but instead rooms for the cats to roam around in and adjust to living inside. The best part about this center is that there is a room specifically designated for kittens.
Someone who is interested in adopting a cat can get a better understanding of the temperament by going and sitting in the room. You will literally be swarmed by cute little kittens. If you aren’t looking for a kitten, there is a room for you to go and sit and have adult cats surround you – you can truly pick the cat for you.
The dog adoption center is just as amazing. There are no cages, but instead rooms that are big enough for a dog to comfortably live in. Each dog also has access to an outside area and throughout the day they are walked by volunteers.
Just like the cat center, there is a room for you to play with the dogs. If you’re having a bad day and want to feel better, just go to one of the centers and play with a dog or get swarmed by fluffy kittens.
I think the No. 1 reason why I voted for this organization was because no animal will ever overstay its welcome. If for some reason it isn’t adoptable, or just doesn’t get along with other animals it will just live within a foster home.
Cats and dogs don’t deserve to be killed because they were left in the streets or were poorly treated by their previous owners.
I am truly excited to work with Because You Care and to see their adoption center Thursday – it has the right idea for how to rescue strays.
Taking them off the streets and killing them because there isn’t enough room in the shelters isn’t and shouldn’t be an option.
BECKY HILKER
