HELENA — Finding your perfect pet can be as easy as scrolling through Facebook, thanks to the Lewis and Clark Humane Society’s Very Important Pet program.
Each week, the humane society picks a different pet to feature as the VIP. The goal—get the pet adopted by the end of the week. So far, staff say the program is working.
“It’s a great, great thing,” LCHS dog program coordinator Rebecca Howard said. “We’ve seen a lot of animals that I think would have been here longer get to go home and start thriving in their home.”
Humane society staff usually choose an animal that is overlooked to be the week’s VIP. Howard said there are a lot of reasons an animal can get overlooked—for example, if there are a lot of orange cats, they can all blend together in the eyes of adopters.
The VIP program helps put the spotlight on a pet and help it stand out to adopters. That extra attention helped cat Thomas O’Malley get adopted—he was the VIP for the week of April 18.
“I was expecting him to be a longer-term cat,” LCHS cat program coordinator Regan Mack said. “He’s a big tom, and they generally stay here a little longer.”
His new owner spotted his VIP post on Facebook and came in to ask about him.
“She came in, she met him, and she just loved him and took him home!” Mack said.
The VIP program also makes the adoption process a little easier. People interested in the VIP pet don’t need to make an appointment to meet it, they can just show up and ask to see the VIP. Also, at $25, the adoption fee is lower while the pet is the featured VIP.
“The Very Important Pet each week gets to go home to the first home that comes in and is going to be a great fit for them,” Howard said.
So, if you see a VIP that you’re interested in, go check them out!
