What do you think of my free Pet-sitting yahoo group? How can I promote it and encourage members to use it?

Question

It is located at:

http://uk.groups.yahoo.com/group/pet_holiday_yorkshire

and is described on the title page thusly:

Need to get away, but no-one to look after your pet? Or maybe you like animals, but not on a full-time basis. If so, then this group could be for you...

'Pet Holiday Yorkshire' has been set-up to enable those living in Yorkshire to look after each other's pets by posting their requirements like so:

Title:- DD-MMM-YY to DD-MMM-YY, Animal Type (Name), Area

Message Body:- Reqirements...blah...ect...

e.g.

"29-May-08 to 06-Jun-08, Male Rat (Minty), Leeds"

"Needs Feeding daily, exercising daily, and maybe cleaning out once. Can be delivered and collected with cage/food/bedding on these dates. Will bring you back a souvineer, thanks in advance - happy to return the favour."

Sticking to this message format enables posts to be searched by month/year/animal/area and so replied to by others. Replying to a post can also provide the opportunity to request a favour in return. You may even want to offer your services in advance, or just as an enthusiast/animal-lover. Members are welcome to upload related material on petcare, hints and tips, cutesy photos or accounts of their pet-sitting experiences.

This is a new group but the number of members is growing all the time, and more members means a better chance of compatible matches... so please feel free to advertise this group!

NB.

Financial arrangements between members are not encouraged.

The moderator accepts no resposability for the actions of others.

When using this site, please make thourough provision for your own safety, that of your pets, and all propetry and persons in contact with them.

It has been running for a few months and people keep joining but not many people are posting. I have received a few encouraging emails and think the idea could work. I have not seen the like elsewhere and think it should exist. I have no experience of running a yahoo group. Any Ideas....?

Answer 1

I'm going to be honest, I don't think many people will go for it.  Here's why:

I have 3 cats, and a dog and when I go away, their welfare and good care is my top priority - it stresses me out so much, that it's often easier for me not to go away.  I HAVE to be sure that they are being looked after by fully insured, experienced and trustworthy people - and I don't mind the costs involved.  If I was to let someone watch them for free, there is no financial binding agreement, so no leg for me to stand on if anything were to go wrong.  No insurances, no licences - the whole thing is a no no.

However, I DO think that it could be a popular thing for children.  They don't tend to have "school pets" anymore, and I think children miss out on this.  Maybe you could gear your group around children and allow them to visit other pets to learn about different pets and their requirements etc.  Maybe a child who has no pets would love to visit a household with several pets, to learn how to care for them.  Maybe then the parents could get involved and allow the child with no pets to "babysit" a hamster for the night??