This article was published on April 2, 2012

Donate Your Facebook cover photo & timeline to save a homeless pet


Donate Your Facebook cover photo & timeline to save a homeless pet

As many as four million pets a year are euthanized simply because they don’t have a place to call home. This saddening fact is exactly why a new initiative has been created by GolinHarris for PetSmart Charities, which poses an interesting take on how we can use our Facebook cover photos for good.

Share a Pic, Save a Pet is an app that makes it easy for anyone to donate their cover photo and timeline by tapping into Adopt-A-Pet.com. Instead of automating a monotonous call to action, the Facebook app lets users find adoptable pets nearby, and can then share those pets’ photos and adoption information with friends. It taps into our world’s cuteness obsession with kitties and puppies, while actually doing some good.

According to PetSmart Charities:

Share a Pic, Save a Pet transforms individual Facebook profiles into social billboards, alerting their friends, family and followers about adoptable pets in their own community that need lifelong, loving homes. Specifically, the application gives Facebook users a unique way to ‘donate’ their profile to save pets in the community, showcasing local pets’ pictures and information about where they can be adopted.

As a friend of furry things, this pulls at my heart-strings. But as a social media-obsessed writer, this app is remarkably transformative as a tool to utilize get something out of our own social presence. It’s great to see that a charity is tapping into this idea first, but it won’t be long before commercialism takes hold of it too.

So far, only 405 pets have been helped to date, but this campaign looks likely to take root. What are you waiting for? Check out the link below and share some cuddly puppies!

➤  Share a Pic, Save a Pet

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