The Lion's Share

A few weeks ago, as I was standing in the grocery checkout line preparing to pay for my purchases and breezing past the usual hodgepodge of tabloids and entertainment magazine mainstays, a dog’s face suddenly leapt out at me from among the covers.

What was this? Certainly not what you’d call a celebrity rag!

I picked up the intriguing volume of Ready, Set, Rescue, printed on solid, full-color magazine stock, to examine it. Designed to serve new and prospective adopters of homeless pets, it was packed with useful tips to ease the transition for all concerned. I felt somewhat embarrassed that I work in animal welfare yet had no idea that this publication existed, but thrilled that it had found its way to a venue as heavily trafficked as my local supermarket. What brilliant marketing for the cause of animal rescue!

Once I got home and had a chance to read it more closely, I saw that it had some “star power” of its own — the magazine’s board of advisors includes one of the founders and directors of the nationally renowned Best Friends Animal Society; “cat whisperer” Jackson Galaxy made famous on the Animal Planet show, “My Cat from Hell”; and the executive director of Found Animals Foundation, whose $75 million Michelson Prize & Grants program funds cutting-edge research that advances the development of a permanent, single-dose, non-surgical sterilant for male and female cats and dogs.

The magazine’s content is a treasure trove of easy-to-digest nuggets of wisdom for soon-to-be and new pet parents, featuring articles on topics ranging from key factors to consider when adopting a pet to behavioral training strategies for the pet’s harmonious integration within a new household to health checklists for dogs and cats to essential supplies for meeting new pets’ needs to directories of additional resources for new pet owners. And the information goes beyond dogs and cats to provide starting points for those considering the adoption of companions such as reptiles, birds, rodents, equines, and farm animals.

In addition to equipping adopters with guidance to facilitate the best possible adoption outcomes, the magazine is also geared toward helping individual shelter and rescue organizations raise funds for their efforts. Organizations that purchase bulk “Go-Paks” of Ready, Set, Rescue issues bundled together with the bimonthly magazine Rescue Me showcasing “happy tails” of adoption successes around the nation — available at a deep discount — subsequently sell them to adopters/adopters-to-be at full retail value, making approximately a 70% profit. Furthermore, organizations that register online for a special ID number become eligible to receive about two-thirds of the price of each subscription to Rescue Me whenever their organization is designated as a recipient by the subscriber.

So what this innovative approach essentially amounts to is a win-win-win-win situation for no less than four parties: adopters (who become better informed about their new family members), shelters and rescues (which receive earnings from magazine sales, and whose cause is widely promoted and positioned for success), the publisher (which accomplishes its mission of helping homeless animals while earning revenue), and especially the animals (who have a better chance of finding — and staying in — new homes).

That said, the magazine’s ability to make a substantial difference for all these various stakeholders is heavily dependent on sales volume…so if the concept appeals to you, here’s how to get involved. Good luck and enjoy!

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