Berkshire Humane Society Announces New "Dog Blog" Web Page
PITTSFIELD, Mass. – The Berkshire Humane Society announces their new “Dog Blog” on the organizations website www.berkshirehumane.org. The features of the blog include videos of adoptable dogs, behind-the-scenes looks at the shelter's canine activities, and information on current animal welfare issues.It was created with 3 main goals in mind: 1. To showcase dogs available for adoption. 2. To share the shelter's canine activities with the community. 3. To educate the public about companion animal welfare issues.
John Perreault, Executive Director of the shelter says,“ The Dog Blog Videos show what the dogs are capable of and how much of the staff’s time is spent on canine enrichment while they are at BHS. We have been successful in adopting two of our longer term canine residents, Corky and Tucker, in part because the new owners viewed the dogs at play and interacting with staff on these videos,” he added.
The Videos Dog Blogs are not just a quick clip of an animal playing fetch, each Dog Blog feature video is a playful, quirky mini-bio, complete with subtitles and music. In them, a dog can be seen in action: running an agility course, being trained, playing with staff, or just hamming it up. “It’s a great way to give potential adopters a view of the dogs that they just can't get from seeing them in the kennel,” added Perreault.
A common belief is that dogs in shelters sit and languish in their kennels all day. At BHS, this is far from the truth, and the Dog Blog has articles, videos, and photos showcasing the many canine activities that the shelter provides for its residents. Present and future posts cover such topics as: agility, obedience training, socialization, feeding toys, play training, and relaxation training. These posts give the community a behind-the-scenes look at what life is like for BHS dogs.
Getting information to the public is imperative to improving animal welfare. The Dog Blog provides Berkshire Humane with a voice to do so. Many animal welfare issues are especially pertinent to animal shelters because shelters are directly affected by them. For example, a two-part welfare post was recently done on internet puppy sales. When behaviorally or physically unhealthy “internet puppies” are no longer able to be cared for by the families who bought them (often from many states away, from someone they never meet), they often end up at animal shelters because the people they came from will not take them back.
BHS canine staff member Liz MacHaffie is the Dog Blog blogger and began the site in September. She says, "A blog is an ideal format for an animal shelter to communicate with the public: It is easily accessible to most people, can host photos and videos, provides a venue for discussion via comments, and is free." BHS hopes the Dog Blog will have a positive impact on animal welfare, both for the dogs at the shelter and in Berkshire County.
The Dog Blog can be found at: http://bhsdogblog.wordpress.com or by clicking the “Dog Blog” tab on the shelter's homepage: http://www.berkshirehumane.org.
