Social Media Saves a Disabled Dog!

Okay, I admit it: I've caught the Twitter bug. I've been spending a LOT of time on this web-based, mini-blogging app that I once disdained as silly and useless. But at that time, it pretty much WAS silly and useless - just a place for friends to catch up on each other's lives in 140 characters or less.

But when I'm not wearing my author or publisher hat, I'm a marketing consultant, and about two months ago, I realized that the immediacy of this medium held some real promise as a promotional tool. So I signed up and things have never been the same.

So, what does this have to do with disabled pets? Well, in this case, a whole lot! According to our intrepid blogging reporter friend, Megan Drake:

Two College Station, Texas roommates who are already 'pros' at rescuing animals found an injured dog left by the side of a road. Since the dog is a pit bull the duo knew he would be euthanized if they brought him to a shelter so they decided to rescue him by first bringing him to a veterinarian for the necessary care of his injuries. His left front leg and part of his tail required amputation. They named him Caesar.

What is really interesting is the ingenuity Jamie Whitt and her roommate Connie Donnellan used in posting Caesar's plight on their Twitter accounts. Hoping to get maybe a quarter of the money needed for Caesar's vet bill, they received $485 in four days! This covered the vet bill of $400 and the rest will be used for his food during his rehabilitation and foster until he finds a forever home.

You go, grrlz!

So, never underestimate the power of technology to help us do good things, even on a personal, individual level. That thought alone is comforting, given the number of ways it is constantly used to do something nasty. It's always our choice, how we will use the tools available to us. I think we just need to be careful about the motivations we allow to guide us in that endeavor.

Hopefully, this story will give you ideas of your own about ways to use social media to make the world more...well, social! I'll leave you today with this long-before-its-time quote from pioneering anthropologist, Margaret Mead:

Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed people can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.