The Northwest Animal Shelter Society was excited to announce their new website, which went live last week.
It’s been an objective of theirs for quite some time, Tonya Gillard said. Gillard, who currently serves as secretary for the society, was happy to accept the help of Simple Designs, so for the last couple of weeks their website has undergone a design shift.
“I’m pretty happy with it,” Gillard said. “It’s way cleaner and it’s easier to read.”
Their old website was something she just threw together one day to have an online presence, Gillard said, but it’s amazing how much traffic it received.
“It got so many animals adopted, just so much interest from people,” she said.
The new website has all their programs nicely laid out, with links to adopt a dog or cat on the main page, as well as lost cats and dogs and a link to donate funds.
If an animal goes missing, a person should let the local vets know, Gillard said, as well as give the local animal control officer a call, but they can post photos of lost pets on the Animal Shelter site as well to try and reunite an animal with its family.
The website is still being tweaked as they go, Gillard said, but is fully functional. One of the things they hope to add is a Paypal button to donate funds, to go along with their usual system of accepting funds through CanadaHelps.org. This way you don’t have to provide your credit card directly, Gillard said, and for people who shop online frequently, most already have a Paypal account.
“You can throw us a couple of dollars if you’re able and we get it directly,” Gillard said.
Funds raised help with their Spay and Neuter Program, or directly to helping to rescue an animal in need.
It’s been a slow start to the year, with many animals waiting for a home, Gillard said, especially with the dogs.
“We’re a little bit overwhelmed, and kitten and puppy season started early,” Gillard said.
What would really help would be for more people to volunteer to foster animals. They can only save as many animals as they have space for, so by providing space in a home while an animal is waiting to be adopted, it could make a huge difference.
The society is also on Facebook and Twitter. Their new website, www.nwas.ca, has more information, or you can send them an email at info@nwas.ca.