Monadnock Humane Society (MHS) is pleased to offer the community a new online resource that can help reunite lost pets with their families. Ten Thousand Eyes™ (TTE) is the trade name of an Internet database system designed specifically for locating and reuniting pets and pet owners in the Monadnock Region. It was developed at no cost in collaboration with the staff of MHS for their use by Gary Lee, an area resident who himself has had five cats vanish in 25 years without a trace. The beta site was launched in October of 2017, and it is now ready to be used to capacity. Micro-Volunteers are needed.
The TTE model focuses on a relatively small geographic area (44 towns in the Monadnock Region – listed on TTE and MHS websites) where people who lose pets are not far from the people who will find them. The differentiating factors TTE uses include all existing and available human resources in the service area. TTE is administered by MHS, a trusted and reputable animal welfare organization, and focuses on their service area of the Monadnock Region. TTE reaches out to local police and animal control officers in those areas, and it uses the power of people to make it run (a team of volunteers who monitor missing and stray pet information on a regular basis – “Micro-Volunteers”).
TTE provides easy 24/7 reporting and information access to all lost animal information in the region, is a central database created by the pet owners and stray spotters themselves. Using a smartphone, tablet or desktop computer, reporting a lost pet or a found stray animal, gets the word out to the entire Monadnock Region in 3-4 minutes, including a pet’s photograph and key descriptive information.
Micro-Volunteers are the driving force behind this initiative. The more people involved, the greater the likelihood that lost pets will be found. We call these volunteers “micro” because it is a job that will not take a lot of time, but can make a huge difference.
Being a Micro-Volunteer involves:
- Completing the simple online questionnaire. (This gives us permission to send an email to the Micro-Volunteers whenever somebody reports a missing pet.)
- Clicking on the link to the new post when an email is received
- Reviewing the post and noting where the animal was lost.
- Sharing this information on social media or in an email to get family, friends and colleagues involved too. The more people who see these posts, the more likely lost pets will be helped.
Emily Kerylow, MHS Director of Operations, is excited to offer this service to the community. “MHS is known throughout the Monadnock Region as a resource for pets. Using technology for this initiative will not only create much-needed efficiencies for our staff who have handled these inquiries manually for many years, but will increase the likelihood of pets being reunited with their families.” Kerylow added that having lots of Micro-Volunteers is what will make TTE successful. “We’re thankful to live in such a supportive, compassionate community, and I’m confident we’ll see many people get involved!”
Please consider becoming a Micro-Volunteer today. Visit monadnockhumanesociety.org for more information, or go to tenthousandeyes.org and click on the “Micro-Volunteer” button on the homepage, and follow the easy instructions.
