Her latest gambit -- a video in which Nancy plays detective to investigate a subject who's been catting around.
See the first installment below, followed by a press release outlining how Nurse Nancy's use of social media can prevent spaying and neutering your furry friend from becoming a cat-astrophe.
Social Media Program Looks To Save Taxpayers Millions"Nurse Nancy" videos drawing attention on YouTube/Facebook
A successful social media campaign based in Denver hopes to show how much impact a ten-cent bit of rubber can make. Armed with her "Cat Condoms," Nurse Nancy has launched her next round of videos designed to raise awareness of spaying and neutering and hopefully save Front-Range taxpayers millions of dollars in pet sheltering, adoption and euthanasia costs.
The program, which featured a series of pet-sex education videos in late 2010, was developed following research by PetSmart Charities, that showed the age group least likely to get their pets fixed were the 18-34 year olds. A concurrent study by the Denver-based Animal Assistance Foundation showed that Denver-metro taxpayers spent more than five million dollars on homeless and feral animals in 2009. That number is expected to increase in 2011.
Based on the success of the previous social media efforts, Nurse Nancy has returned, this time with a six-episode mystery-based web-series. Viewers will be encouraged to watch the videos and then follow clues to help Nurse Nancy solve the mystery of the missing unfixed cat before she gives birth to a litter of kittens. Prizes will be awarded to those who help Nurse Nancy the most.
"We want to make the campaign interactive while raising awareness about spaying and neutering and the problems that result from not getting pets fixed," said Amy Angelilli, Executive Director of The Feline Fix, a program of Rocky Mountain Alley Cat Alliance. "The cat condoms are a bit of a joke, but they make an important point that animals don't practice safe sex, so the only way to prevent pet overpopulation is by getting them fixed."
The clues will be spread out among the websites and social media platforms of the ten Front-Range clinics that are involved in the campaign; Foothills Animal Shelter, Longmont Humane Society, Downtown Animal Care Center, SpayToday, Fort Collins Cat Rescue, Harrison Memorial Animal Hospital, Cat Care Society, Divine Feline, Humane Society of the South Platte Valley, Rocky Mountain Alley Cat Alliance.
This is the first spay and neuter social media campaign in Colorado. David Gies, Executive Director of the Animal Assistance Foundation which is funding the effort says animal welfare organizations are becoming more active online in an effort to reach younger audiences.
"AAF is excited about the social media emphasis of this spay/neuter campaign. This campaign is designed to reach young people all along the Front Range to tell them about the importance of controlling the pet population. The campaign has huge potential for reducing the surplus of 38,000 cats and dogs in Colorado and perhaps elsewhere if it goes as viral as we hope. Nurse Nancy is really Wonder Woman in disguise -- a secret agent for reducing unwanted litters and educating people about responsible pet ownership," said Gies.
Besides raising awareness of spaying and neutering, the program is designed to drive traffic to low-cost spay and neuter clinics along the Front Range. By going to the Nurse Nancy website (www.NurseNancyPresents.com), viewers can sign up online for an appointment to have their pet spayed or neutered.
"We want to make the public know that spaying and neutering is affordable, simple and convenient," said Angelilli. "So we're making it as easy as possible for the public to simply go online and sign up at a clinic near them. It really doesn't take a lot of time or money to get your pet fixed and it will save a lot of headaches down the road."
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