Merry Christmas from PetRescue

December 23, 2019

This is Fred.

Before you read this post, please go read Fred's story here.

So now you're caught up...

A rescue group saves Fred. PetRescue uses Fred as their Christmas ambassador to raise money for themselves.

PetRescue took on this feedback by apologising for taking a story they weren't entitled to, and for not communicating with their rescue members in a respectful partnership.

Just kidding! Actually, just days later PetRescue used Fred again in a follow up pitch for donations.

He's still on their website.

And don't forget the sms pitch.

Not only is PetRescue not acknowledging the work of their rescue group members, taking the stories of pets rescue groups have saved and using it to generate donations for themselves, and not listening to rescue group's feedback as to their feelings when they say they feel this is unfair... it's also a huge problem that rescue groups are completely out-gunned when it comes to fundraising. 

With these two new callouts, that makes five solicitations for the Christmas period.

- The original Apollo solicitation
https://bit.ly/356SPMT

- A follow up solicitation inviting people to "... a much simpler, cheaper and less hairy way of helping all the rescue pets in need!"
https://bit.ly/2E4pHtE

- The story of Fred ".... So far this year, more than 60,000 pets have found their forever home through PetRescue. That’s... 60,000 lives saved."
https://bit.ly/2RyMTs5

While rescue groups generate the content for the PetRescue website by saving all the pets, they also write the pet stories, take the photos and upload all of the pet profiles to the site. They also receive all the adopters; answer all the emails, take all the phone calls, visit all the homes. They care for the pets, clean all the poop, attend all the vet visits, buy all the food, treat all the parasites. They stay up late, get up early, miss family events and work through Christmas.

That PetRescue take all this amazing work and use it to generate tens of thousands of contacts to turn into donation income for themselves, with a larger and larger team of communications staff is the ultimate insult to rescue groups. And at the end of the year, and with all of these resources at their disposal, PetRescue is yet to send any kind of thank you to the rescue groups that make their website possible. That email still hasn't been sent.

PetRescue could thank rescue groups with genuine enthusiasm. PetRescue could take their $1.5 million dollar revenue and share it fairly with the rescue group members they claim to support. But in 2019 rescue groups received no thanks, no financial support and absolutely no respect for the work they do.

The PetRescue offices are now closed for the holidays. The GM is posting on twitter from the pub. The Director is home with his dog. They will open some time in the new year, with little rush required on their return. Meanwhile rescue groups will keep working through Christmas doing the work that PetRescue will claim as their own in the new year.

It is unsustainable and obscene. Merry Christmas from PetRescue.

See also



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