Finding a New Home for Your Pet

I recently received an email containing a photo and plea for help from a woman who was moving to Europe and could not take her two beautiful, well behaved labs with her. These sweet babies were very attached to each other and it was awful to think they might have to be separated to find them good homes. She was desperate to find them a good home where they could continue to live together.

I received the message from a friend and assumed this friend knew the woman who sent the original plea for help and thereby forwarded the message to a couple of other freinds. Unfortunately, the person who sent it to me arrived at the same conclusion when he received the message, and no one checked snopes.com to determine the message's validity. The animals had already found a new home YEARS ago. 

Although these kinds of "hoaxes" are not malicious, they get started, in part, because the original author doesn't think to include an easy way for people to check back to see if a home had already been found for their beloved pets. It is very easy to send a message to friends who inadvertantly proliferate the message in an attempt to help.

Unfortunately, there is no easy way, via email, to let others' know when the search is no longer necessary, the message gathers momentum and continues on its merry way. Now, anytime I get an email and don't know the original sender, I check snopes.com to see if the email is still legitimate. If I had such a pressing need as finding a new home for Miso, I'd include a website or blog for people to check in and get updates before they pass on the email.

This strategy might keep me from having to change my email address as the message makes its way across the world, illiciting help from hundreds of animal lovers. Besides helping me keep my life simple, providing a check back link is just a considerate thing to do.

.