As many of you may know, I have a handful of other websites I write content for and manage. One of these sites is a website dedicated to knee injuries in dogs, specifically Cranial Cruciate Ligament, or CCL (which is analogous to the ACL in humans) tears. I started the site as a help guide to assist other owners facing this type of injury in their pet, and posted all of the research I did, as well as my personal experience with Tucker having a tear in each leg – one which was fixed surgically, and the most recent which we are managing without surgical repair.
I am really proud of the site, and it’s great to have developed a wonderful community of owners who share their stories and offer support to other owners going through this difficult process with their pet. As such, the partner and I decided that we should re-vamp the layout and add additional functionality to the site. One of the things we added was a contact form, so that anyone interested in sharing their personal story or contacting me directly for information has a place to do so. The new version of the site went live on Tuesday evening, and we have seen a generous increase in traffic since its release.
For the most part this slight increase in traffic has mostly resulted in a meager increase in advertising revenue, which is the only way (at this point) we are monetizing the site. The increase in traffic has also had another side effect – a sudden influx of people contacting me through the contact form. Yes, I suppose in a way I am “asking for it” by encouraging people to get in touch, and I honestly do not mind responding to people who are genuinely looking for answers. I do, however, mind my inbox being littered hourly with messages like this:
Subject: help my dog please – [Dogkneeinjury.com Contact Form]
“i would like to know if you would like to help me my 8 yrs old god need surgery he has a tumour on his private area,i only have 150.00 and it is going to coast me 500 ,i am unemployed right now. my number is 323 XXX-XXXX”
Subject: fiacial help – [Dogkneeinjury.com Contact Form]
“i need help finacial help my 1 year old shit zhu need hip surgery please help”
Subject: dog surgery – [Dogkneeinjury.com Contact Form]
“Hi my name is maria and I need help with my dog surgery he has a broken elbow and i don’t have money to pay for the surgery. I need your help!!!
Thank you!!!!”
Subject: please help – [Dogkneeinjury.com Contact Form]
“we have a chihuha (so close to spelling it right) terrier who broker her leg after trying to jump over our child safety gate. We are a young couple with 2 kids and we love our dog dearly we hate that she is in pain we were denied care credit and no vet would set up payment plans is there any way you can help?”
I truly feel terrible that these people are having a hard time and need help to get their dog surgery (especially for the poor pooch that has a tumor on his nether regions). I have been in that position myself, and I know how daunting it can seem to pay for the care of a sick or injured pet. My heart really does go out to you all, but at the same time, I can’t help but to have a slightly bitter taste in my mouth about the whole thing. Do people really think they can just compose a poorly constructed email and all of their problems will be fixed? Do people really think that a site dedicated to knee injuries in dogs is going to be of help for a penile tumor?! If I did have a secret dog assistance fund, I certainly would not be divvying out cash loads to people who could not even take the time to do a simple spell check or include their name…
I really don’t know what else to say… There is a post on my site that lists animal organizations that offer financial aid, so hopefully everyone looking for information will find it useful.