Be business minded for pets

The owners of Fortress Self Storage, believing that more needed to be done to reduce the number of pit bulls being killed in local shelters, took the initiative to create the Fix Your Pit Program, where they set aside a portion of the fees from each new space rental to subsidize the cost of having pit bulls altered through AngelDogs Foundation. The surgery, normally costing $110 (and includes a microchip and a rabies vaccination), is reduced to $40 for the owners of pittie and pit mixes, while Fortress Self Storage pays the difference. Everybody wins.

Which leaves the owners of Fortress Self Storage to ask why more businesses can’t step up and help address the obvious pet overpopulation problem we have in Kern County by doing something similar? Is it for lack of ideas? If so, here are a few to chew on.

How about donating a percentage of a day’s proceeds to a local shelter or rescue group? If you pick a day in advance and do a little promotion, I can all but promise you that the pet loving folks in the area will come out and support you.

Perhaps a business can put out a “snip jar” for a month or so, asking patrons to kick in some spare change that can be donated to local groups for spay/neuter. While I can’t speak for everyone, I know that I am far more inclined to spend money at shops that are supporting causes that are dear to me.

Maybe you own (or work in) an office setting where there’s not a lot of interaction with the general public. How about creating an office giving program, where employees can collectively pool together funds to create one larger donation from the company as a whole?

Promotions like these can help businesses establish a relationship with their community that goes beyond mere advertising, and if you don’t think appealing to people who dig pets is important, or that they don’t represent a sizable enough segment of “your” market, perhaps it’s time to rethink that. Sixty two percent of American households have pets living in them, compared to 46 percent of homes having children under the age of 18. Appealing to pet owners’ better nature might just bring you the customers you’re looking for as we head into the holiday season. If that happens, everybody wins.