Helping Hands Pet Rescue got close to 1,000 animals adopted in 2014 and are looking to social media to make 2015 another successful year.
Patricia Diskant, president of Helping Hands Pet Rescue, credits the organization’s success to Maddie’s Pet Adoption Days — an annual nationwide pet adoption event funded by a no-kill animal rights group.
Because of the adoption days, Diskant said the organization was able to get 198 pets adopted in two days. She said she hopes to increase the organization’s social media presence this year to keep up the high adoption numbers.
“We have a great group of devout followers, adopters, fosters and volunteers that help us get the word out for pets that are looking for forever homes,” Diskant wrote in an email.
Alex Serrano, a UF animal sciences junior, said she thinks Helping Hands’ success comes from its network of supporters. A dog lover herself, Serrano said the love she has for animals and the individual personality traits that each animal carries is what led her to adopt her dog.
The 20-year-old, who adopted her 8-year-old pit bull, said she attributes Helping Hands’ success to knowing the rescues’ personalities and behavior.
Diskant said the organization strives to keep its followers up-to-date on what’s going on in the rescue through Facebook this year. She said she hopes to create a family-like atmosphere for everyone involved in the organization.
“The saying ‘It takes a village to raise a baby’ very much applies to the work of a pet rescue, and we have been blessed with a very supportive and involved family,” Diskant said.
With hopes of increasing their adoptions this year, Diskant said they will increase their presence on Facebook and increase the number of foster homes. This will allow them to have more pets in the program at one time, she said.
“So many people are on Facebook these days, so it is the easiest and fastest way to get the word out for our adoptable pets,” Diskant said. “We look forward to helping out the homeless pets of Alachua County in big ways this coming year.”
[A version of this story ran on page 5 on 1/23/2015 under the headline “Helping Hands Pet Rescue looking to expand social media presence"]
