Earlier this week, almost 3,000 people tuned into a live videoconference on Zoom. The conference was hosted by the Nashville Humane Association as a meet-and-greet or potential adopters.
"When you're faced with not being able to have members of the public in your facility, and you're not sure how long or when you're going to be able to do that safely again, you need to innovate," said Becca Morris, director of development and operations at the organization. "You have to figure out good ways to find homes for homeless pets. So it's been a labor of love."
Every dog featured on Zoom has subsequently received bids in the adoption pool. When the adoptions are finalized, the shelter will drop off the pups via "curbside pickup" in an attempt to minimize contact.
Adoption fees are waived thanks to Pedigree, who agreed to sponsor the dogs adopted through the program. Nashville Humane Association was the first, but Pedigree is working with shelters all around the nation to schedule similar events this summer.
"During this time of social distancing and shelter-in-place orders, many people are turning to pets for companionship," said Craig Neely, vice president of marketing at Mars Petcare. "The Pedigree brand wanted to help share this new best practice of virtual adoption, making it easy for people to find their new best friend, and for adoptable pets to find their forever homes."