The document outlines goals and accomplishments of the Aidmatrix Animal Welfare Program. It discusses hiring an animal welfare expert, delivering over $180,000 in aid to North Texas partners, using technology to encourage collaboration between organizations, leveraging social media to benefit Dallas Animal Services, using technology to reunite lost pets, and developing future programs around bulk pet food purchasing and geo-tagging lost pets.

1. Aidmatrix Animal Welfare Program
Presentation to Funders Coalition
Dallas, Texas
September 2013
Author: Rebecca Poling

2. Goal #1 Hire Animal Welfare SME
 Completed: Hired Animal Welfare Project Manager
 Rebecca Poling has 10+ years experience in animal welfare, including 3 years coordinating the Texas Unites for Animals
Conference
 Currently serving on City of Dallas Animal Shelter Commission, as Social Media Consultant for Dallas Animal Services,
and as Treasurer of Dallas Companion Animal Project
 For the Future: Projects being piloted now to help people may be applicable for pets, allowing donors to sponsor a night
in boarding for a homeless pet going to rescue.

3. Goal #2 Deliver Aid to North Texas Partners
 Completed: Brought $ 180,097 in aid to Texas in 1st year
 Exceeded goal of $ 100,000 worth of pet food in 3 years by 80%, helping build capacity in local
rescue groups and keeping owned pets in their homes and out of shelters
 Provided pet food to rescuers in West, Texas within 1st 48 hours after disaster, and transferred
hay from Black Beauty Ranch to Humane Society of North Texas
 Not just pets, but livestock, too. Transferred hay from Black Beauty Ranch to Humane Society of
North Texas to feed seized horses

4. Goal #3: UseTechnology to Encourage
Collaboration
 Completed:
 Building Block: New DCAP website attracts more partners
 Building Block: New DCAP Assistance Network facilitates donations
 Building Block: New Metroplex Events Calendar features fundraising & adoption events

5. Technology for Collaboration
 Donors include WalMart, Briggs Equipment, North Texas Pet Food Pantry, Poo B Gone,
Spay Neuter Network, Texas Coalition For Animal Protection, Cisco, and many more. We
are beginning to engage the corporate community in constructive ways.
 Recipients include foster-home based rescue groups: Animal Rescue of Texas, Cat
Matchers, Mazie’s Mission, Homeward Bound, Feral Friends, Save The Animals Rescue
Society, and more.

6. Technology and Transfers
 Used technology to create an on-line Partner Application for Dallas Animal Services that streamlines the
process of signing up new transfer partners and updating current partner records. It is accessible 24/7,
allowing volunteers to access the form whenever/wherever convenient – even from mobile phone. Partners
can now specify their authorized representatives, provide shelter and veterinary references, and indicate the
type of animals they can assist, all quickly and easily online.

7. Goal #4: DAS Social Media
 Completed: Leveraging social media on behalf of Dallas Animal Services
 DAS now has 12,000 fans with a total reach of nearly 80,000 and the potential to reach more than 3,500,000. The DAS
Facebook page is now one of the top social media sites in Animal Welfare and the top social media sites of Dallas City
Departments (surpassing DPD who employees a staff of three full time employees dedicated to social media).
“If we can point to one thing that has helped change the face of DAS as well as assist us in raising
transfer numbers and decreasing euthanasia, it is social media.” - Jody Jones, Dallas Animal
Services
City of
Dallas
Best
Facebook
Page!
One of Top
Pages in
Animal
Welfare!

8. Social Media
 Leveraging social media on behalf of Dallas Animal Services
 Bringing more than $ 5,000 cash and over $ 3,000 of in-kind donations to DAS
 Networking hundreds of adoptable pets and saving more lives
 Providing exceptional customer service and resolving complaints
 Positive messaging and brand building are changing people’s perceptions!

9. Infographics
Leveraging social media further:
Created Infographics for monthly reporting online and on social media, increasing transparency, touting the
work of our partners and the community, and ensuring accurate messaging .
DAS LRR was 20.6% in August of 2011. By March of 2013, it was 54.4%

10. Goal #5: Use Technology to Reunite Lost Pets
 Reuniting Lost Pets
 Left: Stella’s photo was posted on the DAS Facebook page on a Sunday and was shared 753 times in just 24 hours.
Someone who saw the post remembered hearing about a dog matching Stella's description that was dropped in the
parking lot at the Humane Society of Dallas County the week before. Stella’s family was notified and by the next day
they were reunited with her.
 Right: Shadow was found by a Good Samaritan during an ice storm - tired, cold, and wet. The Good Samaritan kept
him safe until the next morning when he was transferred to Dallas Animal Services. Shadow’s photo was posted on
the DAS Facebook page the next morning and by 7 p.m. that night, Shadow, who was nearly 18 years old at the time,
was back at home. His owner posted this that evening “Our family would like to say "THANK YOU" to the
person/people who took the time to take care of him until DAS could pick him up. We would also like to say "THANK
YOU" to DAS for taking such great care of him also.”

11. Resources For Lost Pets
 Reuniting Lost Pets:
 Created Pinterest page as a resource for pet owners, providing– Lost & Found Pet postings, tips for finding lost pets, links
to people and places who can help, ways to cope with the loss of a pets, and of course – happy endings.

12. The Next Step In Lost Pets
 In the works now : Our tech team is developing a Big Data project to help reunite lost pets based on describable criteria.

13. Solutions for the Future
 In the works now: A program to use GeoTagging to reunite Lost & Found pets. Take a photo, tag
it, upload it. Reuniting lost pets keeps them out of shelters.

14. Solutions for the Future
 In the works now: Creating partnerships to buy pet food in bulk and utilizing Aidmatrix existing technology to get it to local rescue groups
who need it.

15. Solutions for the Future
 For the Future;:Can we reunite more pets by making scanners more readily available to non-profit rescue groups? Reuniting pets
keeps them out of shelter. Will this work to build capacity by supplying scanners to groups willing to collect and share data.

16. Solutions for the Future
 For the future: Continue building relationships, increase donations, leverage existing framework and pump more aid through the system,
and build a network now that will be effective in a disaster.

17. Solutions for the Future
 For the Future: Projects being piloted now to help people may be applicable for pets, allowing donors to sponsor a night in boarding
for a homeless pet going to rescue.