Weekly Roundup: Around The World

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Tura-lura-Luray

By the time you read this, I will be on my way to Virginia’s Luray Caverns. Maybe I’ll even come back with photos like this one.

Let me rephrase that. I hope I will be on my way to Luray Caverns.

This assumes that while I was sipping my morning tea on my deck, Back Yard Squirrel hasn’t chucked an acorn or several my way to brain me into buying a new bird feeder he can get into.

He broke the last one. Cheeky little booger, isn’t he?

Anyway.

Assuming BYS did not brain me, and assuming I am on my way, I thought I’d leave you with seven great travel-oriented blog posts to whet your wanderlust.

See, I love traveling. Road trips are the best.

I haven’t done a proper road trip since last year’s homage to country music/Elvis, so the prospect of the relatively short – yet not too short – drive to LC has me drooling like a mariachi in a music store.

Fasten your seat belts. Off we go.

1. Passports with Purpose 2010 – Travel Bloggers Raising Money Together, from Chris Gray Faust‘s Chris Around the World.

Why: Peregrination + philanthropy using social media = paradise.

2. British holidays are not that bad, from Darren Cronian‘s Travel Rants.

Why: If I could, I’d make every holiday a British holiday. But I thought this was a great reminder of how fun times can be had without going halfway around the world (like Luray Caverns, heh).

3. Dealing with ants in your house in Thailand, from I Travel About.

Why: Forget about Thailand, I periodically get ants here.

4. Pet travel lessons learned from one couple’s DIY pet move, from PetRelocation.com.

Why: PetRelocation is a great resource for folks who like (or need) to travel with their pets. Plus, they were stellar at trying to help me find an orphaned German Shepherd a home last year.

5. Pitfalls on travel writing from the road, from the Travel Tart.

Why: It’s funny. And it’s a good reminder of what not to take for granted.

6. Cow in a car, from April Wendy Hollands’ Le Franco Phoney.

Why: The photo says it all.

7. The Shrink-Wrapped Traveler, by Eric Weiner from World Hum.

Why: The Geography of Bliss is a great book. And this is a great read on why we travel… and why, at the end of the day, we all need some place that feels like home.

So. Where are you going next?

Image: Flickr user John Menard, CC 2.0

Bookmining on Twitter

Stuck for reading material?

Image: David Pritchard, Creative Commons

Just ask your social networks for their recommendations.

I had a $50 gift card to Barnes & Noble that was burning a hole in its sleeve.

I have a habit of using gift cards to get gifts for others, but this time I decided to treat myself.

W00t!

Look at some of the great recommendations I got (and am still getting)

on Twitter:

and on Facebook

I ended up buying:

Guns, Germs and Steel by Jared Diamond (I heard about it on NPR and have been wanting to read it),

Sea of Poppies by Amitav Ghosh, who is one of the best Indo-Anglian writers EVER,

The Palace of Illusions by Chitra Banerjee-Divakaruni (ditto on the Indo-Anglian author thing, and because I think her take on the Mahabharata might possibly be better than that of Peter Brook’s), and

Pilgrim at Tinker Creek by Annie Dillard, which Leah Betty mentioned on Twitter while we were chatting:

And the $50 covered them all (including tax, free shipping).

Double W00t!

So now I have four great books coming my way, and a whole host of others to add to my “must read” list, especially when I need a new book fix.

Yes, I know I could use the library, but I’m one of those people who likes to keep the books they love.

They become some of my best friends, and there’s nothing like going into your home library and sitting down for a cuppa to get reacquainted with characters you haven’t seen in a while.

Just another way social media makes my life better.

So what if you’re not saving the world?

My social networks didn’t help me save the world today, or save a dog.

But they added immense value by opening up my world just a little bit more.

And it’s only by inhabiting an open, forward-looking world that we can progress, not one that shutters and bars the doors to change.

Thank you, SM; and thank you everyone who gave me such great suggestions.

I’m here because you are.

Measuring PR With Jen Zingsheim

Tomorrow Jen Zingsheim of CustomScoop will be gracing #measurePR to chat about all things PR measurement (disclosure, I’m a happy CustomScoop client).

Jen isn’t being featured on the chat because I’m a client; if you’ve been following the chat, either live or through the transcripts, you’ll see this is the first time she’s the featured guest.

I asked if she’d be interested in talking about measurement because I think she’s really smart about it. And because she loves animals and was one of my “let’s find Darby a home through social media” cohorts. And because she plays really good April Fool’s jokes. Yup, I fell hard for that one.

So here are the three questions Jen will be answering on Tuesday:

How do you carve out time to measure, and what gets priority when you’re busy?

How often do you step back and ask what your data means?

How do you wean people off of “old media” metrics like eyeballs & AVE?

I know this isn’t a “bricks-and-mortar” event, but if you think you can join (12-1 pm EDT on Tuesday, May 11), please do “RSVP” here (and thanks, Justin Goldsborough and Heather Whaling for giving me the idea of creating a Facebook event for the chat).

Then just sign on to Twitter shortly before 12 noon ET tomorrow, and follow along and/or participate in the chat using the #measurePR hashtag. You can certainly use Twitter Search, but I find it easier to follow along in Tweetgrid, Tweetchat or by simply opening a dedicated search column in whatever Twitter desktop application you like to use).

Do you have other questions you’d like to ask Jen? Please leave them in the comments below, or email/DM them to me.

See you tomorrow!

Photo © Jen Zingsheim, used with permission.

What Darby Taught Me About PR

It was about a year ago that my husband’s family (and therefore mine) went through the traumatic experience of learning that one of the uncles tragically passed away very suddenly while on vacation abroad.

Dealing with death is never fun.

While the family started coming to terms with their loss, I tried to put my PR background to good use: to find our late uncle’s “orphaned” dog, Darby, a home, using social media.

If you’re just tuning in to the Darby saga, you can catch up on my posts from last year here, here, here, here and here.

One year later, our uncle and his affairs are at rest, and Darby did indeed find a new home. Certainly this was huge for me on a personal level.

On a broader level, though, this entire experience does have some good takeaways (and some reinforcement) that I wanted to share:

1. Social media can be incredibly powerful.

If I hadn’t been blogging and tweeting, and asking others to do so, Megan Drake would never have picked it up for her column, and KOIN-TV wouldn’t have seen Megan’s story and brought Darby into Portland’s homes.

2. Traditional media is far from irrelevant in the 21st century.

No matter how many people were tweeting and re-tweeting about Darby, a traditional TV newscast was the catalyst we needed. If you read my first post on Darby, you’ll remember that was one of things I was hoping for.

3. Online communities can be extremely effective, even if they’re made up of IRL “strangers.” Some of Darby’s most avid fans on Twitter were people I’d never met. It didn’t matter. They cared about her fate, so they acted. The secret is to give them something to care about.

4. If you give people the tools to work with, and ask them to do something, they will.

I could have written my blog, tweeted about Darby and left it at that. I didn’t; I asked everyone I knew to re-tweet, forward emails, joined every relevant online group I could think of (and was even made the owner of one, which threw me a little!) and kept asking people to spread the word. Most importantly, there was a central location – this blog – for folks to get information from and get in touch with me.

5. There’s no substitute for elbow grease.

Yes, SM allows us to communicate instantly. Yes, we have the potential to reach millions of people with a single click. But we still have to write, to call, to reach out and follow up for it to result in something. At least “ordinary people” like us do; and the Seth Godins of the world had to at some point as well (which is how they became the Seth Godins of the world).

What would I have done differently?

Hindsight, as they say, is 20-20. For the most part, I don’t have any regrets about what I did or how I did it. The only question I ask myself is:

Should I have started blogging Darby’s plight earlier?

If you look at the timeline of the Darby posts, the first one ran on May 11, 2009. This was about two weeks after we first heard the news. At the time, I spent the first few days figuring out what paperwork needed to be done in order for me to move ahead with getting Darby adopted, and making/sending a ton of calls and emails.

I don’t regret how I spent this time in the slightest – it was very important that we have our ducks in a row – but I also waited to see whether a few promising leads would work out. They didn’t, which started putting me into panic mode. And that’s when I started blogging, tweeting (including setting up Darby with her own Twitter account), etc.

You could say that this particular rear view mirror is pointless; we found Darby a home and that, at the end of the day, is what mattered. However, if we’d started this cycle of information even a few days earlier, it may have saved us not just time and money, but Darby’s state of mind, which was deteriorating by the day. Fortunately she made it… but what if she hadn’t?

The bottom line

A year later, and even though I have had no contact with her or her new family post-adoption (and believe me, I’ve tried), Darby still reminds me of what powers public relations.

It’s people.

At the end of the day, regardless of whether you’re in B2B or B2C communication (or any other acronym you want to add to the list), you’re dealing with issues, products, services, whatever – that all affect people.

So you must find a way to make what you’re trying to say (your “messages”) relevant to those people (i.e. your “audiences” or “publics”), in order for them to take the actions that will, hopefully, result in you achieving your desired outcomes. You have to do so cohesively and in a timely fashion.

You have to be consistent… and you have to keep going. If a particular tactic isn’t working, you have to try another. And you can only do that if you’re keeping track of your progress. Which means you have to have measurable objectives in mind, which should inform your communications. Which are by, to, for, and of… people.

Funny how public relations works, isn’t it?

Photo of Darby by the brilliant and talented Susan Ragan, used with permission.

Year Two, Here We Come

As I mentioned yesterday, this blog turned a year old on January 10. Another milestone for me in a year of milestones (another one’s coming up on January 15, in case you missed my post from yesterday).

It’s been quite a ride, which is why I decided to use this wonderful photograph from West Zest’s Flickrstream (CC-licensed, of course) as a visual accompaniment to this post.

Because I felt quite childlike when I started my journey through the blogosphere; wonder that you cared what I thought, glee when it made you chuckle, and overwhelmed when you showed you cared, like when you helped find Darby a home.

I plan to share some of my lessons learned in this first year of blogging in a follow-up post, but this particular one is meant to thank a few people who really helped me out, started me off and kept me going. This is not an “Oscar” list by any stretch of the imagination; I’ve received so much support from around the world it would be impossible for me not to leave someone off a larger “thank you” list – so please know I really, really appreciate all of you.

In particular, though, I need to thank:

Kami Huyse, who gave me my first guest post slot even before I started this blog. She took a chance on me and, as a result, put me on the path to Wax UnLyrical.

Robin Lane, who patiently sat through countless IMs about “what the heck do I call it?” I wanted it to have a really great name, and she told me to go with my gut.

Lisa Hoffmann, who gave freely of her advice and encouragement. She’s one of the nicest, most welcoming people it’s been my good fortune to meet.

Joe Perez, who has taught, and continues to teach, me so much. Joe helps me out with all sorts of blog-related stuff, from SEO, to plugins, to Idon’tknowwhatchacallemsbuttheyrock, at all hours of the day and night. Joe, some day when I’m rich, I’ll buy you an island.

Jeff Crites, who connected me to Joe. Jeff – you probably don’t even remember, but it was an IM on Facebook that set this whole thing off. So really, this whole thing is your fault.

Shashi Bellamkonda, who shares his love of technology and tools freely, and who has given me countless tips on how and where to start making this blog more visible.

If you’ve visited, commented, shared my posts, tweeted or retweeted them out, subscribed (gasp!), you’ve kept me going. And that has led to some wonderful connections, professional opportunities and even a legitimate advertising inquiry (just one, just yesterday, but it’s a start, right?). Someone pinch me.

Thank you all. Year Two and beyond – here we come!

Tweetup… A Pocketful of Rainbows

I told you a couple of days ago about #shonalitweetup that’s being organized around PRSA2009. Now I’m really excited that we’ve added another layer to what I know is going to be a great evening and will, I hope, help an extremely worthy fund raising effort meet its goal.

We’ve partnered with 12for12K to help one of its charities, Musicians on Call. If you’re active in the social media world, you’re already familiar with 12for12K and Danny Brown, the brains and passion behind it. If you’re not, you can learn more here and here.

So, in a nutshell, if we all give a little, we’ll be able to help some extremely worthy causes. $12K per charity sounds like an awful lot, but not if we all chip in $10, $20, whatever we can (and companies, you should be giving more!). Little drops of water, little grains of sand, etc.

All the charities that have been selected for 12for12K are worthy causes. Even if we haven’t lived in a war zone, been excruciatingly hungry, or have been blessed with keeping our vision, we can identify with those who have/do, have been/are, and haven’t/can’t. If you haven’t been touched by these issues directly, you have been, in some way, shape or form, indirectly.

When it comes to music, though, there is not a single person who has not been touched by it directly. Remember how excited I was to visit Graceland, or listening to/watching Adam Lambert? In other words, the soundtrack of our lives.

So please help Danny and his team support Musicians on Call. Here are some ways in which you can do this:

1. If you’re coming to #shonalitweetup, consider chipping in. Yes, the tweetup is still sponsored, thanks to PRNewswire, Mike Smith Public Affairs and dna13 (that means hosted beverages and pie aka pizza for a limited time, so that we don’t drink Bar Basic out of house and home). And you don’t have to chip in – but it would be so nice if you would.

2. Whether you’re coming to the tweetup or not, share this post and/or the link to its 12for12K page with your networks; Facebook, Twitter, even email… you know the drill. Oh, and how about embedding the donation widget on your blog?

3. If you really think this is a good idea, put the squeeze on people you can ask directly to chip in.

You, my community, have been very good to me – from egging me on when I started this blog a whopping 11 months ago, to helping me find Darby the GSD a home. I hope I’ve been good for you in some way too. Now let’s all be good for 12for12K and Musicians On Call.

One other thing – and this is very important – just because the tweetup is tomorrow night, we’re not going to stop trying to help there. 12for12K runs through the end of the year… so we have a few weeks to help them reach their goal. Let’s do it!

Can we help some very worthwhile causes find their pockets full of rainbows?

As always, thank you from the bottom of my heart. (Psst, I downloaded MoC’s logo from their site, in case you want to do that as well).

Drum Roll: Darby Has a New Home

When I started blogging about Darby the German Shepherd a little under a month ago, I had no idea if my question, “Can Social Media Find Darby a Home?” would be answered, let alone in the affirmative.

(If you’re catching up on the Darby story, you can find the earlier posts at the bottom of this one. In a nutshell, though, Darby’s a beautiful GSD who used to belong to my husband’s late uncle, who lived in Portland, Ore., and died suddenly on vacation in late April. My mission in life since that time has been to find Darby a home.)

I am SO happy and relieved that finally, the answer, is a resounding “yes.” Last night, Darby went home with Ron and Shawnee Ostrom, a lovely couple who live just outside Portland with their two sons, Garrett and Blake. The Ostroms were one of many animal lovers who saw the story Portland’s KOIN-TV did on Darby last week. After several rounds of meeting her, talking with the folks at Townhouse Pet Care Center and myself, it was clear that not only did they love Darby – but that Darby loved them.

KOIN-TV did a follow-up story on the Darby “chronicles,” as I like to call them, last night. You can see just how happy Darby is.

You know how it is when you’ve been working on something really hard, and then it all falls into place and you can’t quite believe that it’s over? I feel a little like that right now. I just wish Tom (our late uncle) could have seen all this. I think he’d have been tickled pink. (Of course, if he were here, none of this would have happened, so it’s a moot point. But you know what I mean.)

This is not quite Oscar-worthy, but I do need call out a few folk for their tremendous support and help during the last several weeks:

First, the folks at Townhouse Pet Care Center – where Darby has been living – particularly Stacey Scott and Kim Allgeier – have been absolutely incredible. They closed Darby’s account a couple of weeks ago so that we wouldn’t have to worry about an unending bill, and have cared for her as if she were their own. I can’t even begin to express how grateful my entire family is to them. If their love and concern for Darby is anything to go by, Townhouse is a great place to board your animals, so take note, Portland.

Susan Ragan, a world-class and ex-AP photographer I’m fortunate to call my friend, was one of Darby’s first visitors when we heard about Tom’s passing. She took the photographs of Darby that have helped so many of you get to know her, including the one in this post, and has been ready to step in as a foster-mom if a permanent home didn’t work out. If you need an ace photographer, you need to talk to Susan.

Megan Drake: thank you for writing about Darby and bringing her plight to the attention of KOIN. Janet Tobiassen, DVM: thank you for writing an extremely timely story on planning for your pets and continuing to drive attention to Darby. Jen Zingsheim and Chip Griffin: thank you for letting me talk about Darby on Media Bullseye Radio.

Rachel Farris and Kevin O’Brien of PetRelocation.com: thank you for stepping up early in the game with your incredibly generous offer of transporting Darby to a new home outside of Portland, if that’s where we found one. We never had to take you up on it, but it was a lifeline for me at a time I felt I didn’t have too many. Er, any.

KOIN-TV, especially Tim Gordon: thank you for showing Portland what a lovely dog Darby is and caring enough about her to come back a second time.

There are so many people I’ve been put in touch with over the past few weeks, from the Oregon German Shepherd Rescue, to the Oregon Humane Society, to caring individuals all over the country – I couldn’t even begin to list them all. Thank you, everyone, who took the time to help me make a connection – you know who you are.

And finally, my Tweeps. You’ve been an amazing source of support and a wonderful community. Twitter was where this whole thing started; I’ll never forget that. Thank you, each and every one of you.

The story has a happy ending. Darby’s found a new home. And social media did it for her.

P.S.: I have no idea if Darby will keep tweeting. You’ll just have to wait and see, won’t you?

Tom Farrell (second from left) with his siblings a few years ago. R.I.P.

Earlier posts:

• Can Social Media Find Darby a Home?
• Will Social Media Save Darby? The Saga Continues
• The Darby Chronicles: Part III
• Social Media Might Just Find Darby a Home

Follow the Fellow who Follows a Dream

Today’s #followfriday on Twitter. Since I invariably get asked at least once on Fridays what the heck that is, here’s an excellent explanation by Micah Baldwin on Mashable, for anyone who’s about to pop the question.

Beginning today, I thought I’d highlight a few people I like to follow and why, every Friday. Lauren Fernandez started doing this a few weeks ago and I thought it was a great idea, so thanks for the inspiration, Lauren.

As to the title of this post: if you know where it came from, you know where I’m going with the people I feature in this post. And there’s a treat in store for you at the end. Just keep reading.

1. Katie Paine (@kdpaine). Let me count the ways. She’s the measurement queen – I mean, literally. The measurement lexicon we use nowadays has been strongly influenced, if not entirely rewritten, by her. She’s pioneered the way we look at PR measurement today, because she knew, when she started out, there was a better way to do it. She’s a cancer survivor. To top it off, she lives in the dreamlike Shankhassic Farm, which has been in her family for over a century, and whose main house she literally rebuilt through sheer willpower.

2. Meghna “K” (@meghnak). I can’t remember how or why I came across Meghna on Twitter, but I’m hooked. She’s 13. She loves to write. She writes well; she puts a lot of adult bloggers I come across to shame. And I love her spirit. Did I mention she’s 13?

3. Laurie Ashton Farook (@LMAshton). I think Laurie and I connected during the Mumbai terror attacks. She has a killer sense of humor and is another great writer. And anyone who’s a redhead by choice, met and married a man in “jaw-dropping fashion” (I did too) and lives in Colombo – one of the most beautiful places in the world – hasn’t just followed, but is living her dream.

4. Rachel Farris (@MeanRachel). If her Twitter handle isn’t enough of a reason to follow her, Rachel is a prolific writer with opinions she’s not afraid to express. She’s also managed to combine her love of animals, PR and social media in her job at PetRelocation.com. That’s how I “met” her; she picked up on the Darby story and has been an incredible resource ever since.

5. Bhavin Patel (@beepso). I taught Bhavin years ago (oh dear, I’m dating myself), lost touch and then reconnected with him on Facebook. Even though I haven’t met him in many moons, I suspect he still has that same twinkle in his eye. You’ve got to give props to anyone who blogs as “beelzebubbles.” Plus, he loves what he does and is eloquent about it.

There you go. Five great people who are both dreamers and doers. I’d follow them if I were you.

Whom do you follow who inspires and delights you? I’d love to know.

“Finian’s Rainbow” fans, I haven’t forgotten. Happy Friday!

“Follow the Rainbow” image by Señor Codo

Social Media Might Just Find Darby a Home

The Darby saga has been going on for weeks now (if you’re a first-time reader, check out my earlier posts at the bottom of this one to get up to speed, but long story short, she’s an “orphaned” GSD in Portland, Ore., for whom I’m trying to find a home).

When I started blogging, tweeting, etc., about Darby, I asked the question, “Can Social Media Find Darby a Home?” Truth was, I didn’t know. I just knew I had to get the word out about her any way I could.

Well, after several potential homes fell through – and I was starting to feel thoroughly discouraged – something wonderful happened yesterday. Portland’s KOIN-TV picked up Darby’s story via Megan Drake’s story on Examiner.com, and did a lovely segment on Darby at 5:30 p.m. (PT) yesterday. Here it is:

Check that Darby out. Isn’t she gorgeous? Truly an “e-star.”

As of this writing, I’ve heard from at least two people who are interested in adopting Darby, and very much hope one of them will work out.

Nothing’s a done deal just yet, though, so if you’re one of the many people who’ve been trying to spread Darby’s story, please share this video and/or post with those you think might be interested and/or able to continue the information chain.

As to thanks – there are so many of you to thank, I don’t know where to begin. For now, thank you EVERYONE who’s been trying to help, especially my Tweeps (or “support crew,” as one of them put it), and especially KOIN-TV; Megan Drake; Susan Ragan, whose stunning photos of Darby, including the one in this post, have put a face to this story; and the incredibly generous and kindhearted folks at Townhouse Pet Care Center, who are now caring for Darby free of charge until we re-home her.

The world is a better place with you in it.

Earlier posts:

• Can Social Media Find Darby a Home?
• Will Social Media Save Darby? The Saga Continues
• The Darby Chronicles: Part III

The Darby Chronicles: Part III

It’s a holiday weekend, the weather’s beautiful (at least here in DC)… all should be well with the world, right?

Unfortunately, for a lovely 7-year-ish female German Shepherd in Portland, Ore., who recently lost her “dad,” it’s not quite perfect yet.

If you’re getting up to speed on the Darby situation, I’ve included links to my earlier posts on Darby at the bottom of this one, so do read those first.

It’s not all gloom and doom. My Tweeps have continued to spread the word and are still sending me resources they can think of. The folks at Townhouse Pet Care Center are doing a phenomenal job caring for Darby – they are going above and beyond. The Oregon German Shepherd Rescue is doing its utmost to help place her as well, as are the folks at pdxdog.com and some of my IRL friends. PetRelocation.com has offered to cover Darby’s door-to-door transportation to her new home, if it’s outside Portland; and there are a couple of Tweeps who might have a home for Darby as an “option of last resort.”

I am so grateful to all of you. Thank you.

While I’m particularly thankful to have an option of last resort for Darby, wouldn’t it be great if we could find her an “option of first resort?”

That would be a home in the Portland area, where Darby can rule the roost as the only pet. She certainly looks like a queen, doesn’t she?

So while I hate to keep asking you to do something, if you have any contacts in Portland who might be looking to bring a people- and kid-friendly, adult, female dog into their home, I would so appreciate you putting them in touch with me.

From Darby and I, thank you again, and have a wonderful Memorial Day weekend.

This photo of Darby, like those in the related posts, was taken by the inimitable Susan Ragan, whom I can’t thank enough for her generosity of spirit and time.

Related posts:

Can Social Media Find Darby a Home?

Will Social Media Save Darby? The Saga Continues

Will Social Media Save Darby? The Saga Continues

Since I first blogged about Darby the (female) German Shepherd, there’s been a lot of interest in her and her situation. There are so many people who have helped spread the word, and continue to do so, that I couldn’t begin to list them all here. But you know who you are, and I thank you from the bottom of my heart.

As an aside, almost all of you have connected with me through Twitter – what an incredibly effective communication platform (and guess what, Darby decided to get on Twitter too).

A few more details on Darby have emerged in the last few days, as well as answers to questions I’ve been getting. So here’s the Darby FAQ (remember, I’m not a dog trainer or behaviorist and am simply telling you what I’ve been told – any of this could change based on the environment Darby is in):

What’s the deal with the aggression?

A better way to describe this, according to the trainer at Townhouse Pet Care Center, where Darby is currently being cared for, is that she has a strong “prey drive.” This isn’t PR-speak; if you’re familiar with Shepherds (I grew up around them) and similar breeds, you know it comes with the territory.

The people who have had the most contact with Darby – the folks at Townhouse, my friend Susan Ragan and a good friend of our late uncle, all believe Darby can be re-socialized with the right attention and training. In other words, it’s highly unlikely that she’s un-rehabilitable.

What are Darby’s vital statistics and history?

Darby was adopted by our late uncle three or four years ago from a shelter. So she has the same history as just about any other shelter animal – not much. She’s a smaller GSD (between 60 & 70 lbs), spayed and from all indications in good health – she shows no signs of dysplasia, etc. But I don’t have access to any records on her, other than what Townhouse might have. Like any shelter animal, what you see is what you get.

Is Darby good with kids? What’s her temperament?

Yes, by all accounts she’s extremely loving and people- and kid-friendly. Like most GSDs, she’s extremely intelligent as well. She’s well-behaved, housebroken, and does not bark excessively.

Does Darby need to be an “only pet”?

I certainly think that would be an ideal situation, since she’d be in a non-threatening environment. However, if she does go to a home with other pets, she will likely settle down with the right amount of attention and training. I can’t promise you anything, though.

Have I tried to contact breed-specific rescues and other groups?

Yes. So far I haven’t had any luck in reaching them, other than the Oregon German Shepherd Rescue, who have acknowledged my emails and phone calls, but who have not made direct contact with me yet. (And yes, I’m still trying). The Oregon Humane Society has been extremely helpful in directing me towards certain rescue groups as well.

What if someone outside of Portland, Ore., wants to adopt Darby?

If this is the right fit, you bet I’ll talk to them. The folks at PetRelocation.com saw my earlier post and have made the incredibly generous offer of transporting Darby to her new home, wherever that might be, free of charge. So now we just need to find a home for her.

What’s going to happen to Darby in the next few days?

The perfect solution, of course, would be to find a “forever home” for Darby and move her there. Failing that, we need to get her into a foster home – of which there are potentially two right now – and continue the search for permanent placement.

Practically speaking, this would be a foster home in the Portland area. The folks who have stepped up so far, including her caretakers at Townhouse, have been incredibly generous with their time and support, but I would like to stop being a drain on their resources as soon as possible.

A couple of folks I’ve connected with through Twitter – both outside of Portland – are considering giving Darby a home as an option of last resort. But – and I can’t stress this strongly enough – they both have constraints and nothing is a done deal. So it’s critical that we keep looking for a home for Darby.

If someone’s interested in Darby, how can they contact me?

Email me at info@shonaliburke.com; if you’re on Twitter, tweet me. If someone you know or have passed the information along to wants to talk to me, please ask them to let me know how they got the information.

Will social media save Darby? I don’t know … yet. I certainly hope so; it has certainly been extremely effective in getting people around the country – and the world – talking about her.

I might add that Darby’s got more gumption than most people I know (including myself); she’s been hitting up Ellen, Oprah and Rick Sanchez as well (no response so far).

I can’t even begin to tell you how grateful we are for your support and concern for Darby. I hope you’ll continue to help put the word out there, however you can – by tweeting and re-tweeting this post, spreading the news among your online and offline networks, posting to your Facebook pages, etc. – so that we can put social media to use for Darby’s good.

Thank you.

Darby’s photo courtesy Susan Ragan

Can Social Media Find Darby a Home?

I love social media and networking. No surprises there. What is especially fascinating to me is their potential to bring together people who are virtually unknown [sic] to each other, and set the stage for something unique, something unintended and, quite possibly, something very, very good.

There are several examples of virtual “strangers” banding together to make a difference; certainly for non-profit organizations and causes, but also in response to personal appeals. Remember Beth Kanter’s birthday fund raising drive which raised thousands of dollars for kids in Cambodia? And how about the British teenager who was literally “saved by Facebook“?

I thought long and hard about doing this, and finally decided that if Chris Brogan can ask you to shave your head for charity (which I applaud, by the way) I can ask you to try to save a life.

Darby’s Story

My husband’s uncle died suddenly while vacationing in Panama a couple of weeks ago. To say it’s been a huge shock would be putting it mildly.

We are still not out of the rain forest, so to speak; unless you’ve been through it, you have no idea how much there is to deal with – or how complicated and arduous the process is – when a family member dies abroad.

Be that as it may, our uncle left no progeny behind… but he did leave a dog.

“Darby O’Callahan” is a spayed female German Shepherd, about 7 years old. I’ve never met her, but from what I hear, she is extremely affectionate towards people, healthy and quite a beauty. She’s also one of the few dogs I know who has her own Facebook page.

Should be a cinch to get her adopted, right?

Nope. It seems that Darby has lately been showing aggression towards other animals, which means she needs to go to a home where she’ll be an “only dog.”

Now, it’s quite possible this is a result of Darby’s recent stress, and her strong prey instinct (which is what the manager/trainer at Townhouse Pet Care Center, where she’s currently being boarded told me she probably has) could be trained out of her over time.

After all, if your “dad” had suddenly disappeared, and you’d been in a kennel for 3 weeks+, you’d be pretty ornery too… if you were still sane.

(Disclaimer: Much as I love them, I’m not an animal trainer or behaviorist, so I’m providing the information given to me by people who are more qualified than me in this area.)

I’ve been trying to contact a few different rescues in the Portland, Ore., area (which is where Darby is), but so far we haven’t had any luck placing her; I had a potential home for her which fell through when we heard about the aggression issue, which I was heartsick over. Several of my friends and family have received an email plea for me. Some of my Tweeps have been trying to spread the word.

Well, now I’m throwing it open to YOU. Can you help get the word out about Darby? Forward this post, tweet it, share it however you can.

The folks most likely to adopt her will, of course, be in the Portland area; can you activate your network(s) to see if we can reach people there? Perhaps even the media?

Approximately five to seven million companion animals enter shelters every year, and 60% of these dogs and 70% of these cats are euthanized simply because of a lack of resources.

Those are horrifying statistics in a country where almost two-thirds of households have pets.

I don’t want Darby to become another statistic.

Can you – the embodiment of social media – help find Darby a home? Anyone who’s interested, or wants to know more, can reach me at info (a) shonaliburke.com.

We would be so grateful. And I truly believe our uncle’s soul would be at rest.

Many thanks to the inimitable Susan Ragan for her great photographs of Darby, and to the folks at Townhouse for taking such good care of Darby while we try to place her.