Press Release

July 14, 2010

Contact: Lynn Spivak, Communications Director Tel: 510.337.8979

Starting July 19 and running until September 24 (10 weeks), cash prizes will be given to Petfinder.com member shelters and rescue groups throughout the U.S. who demonstrate good customer service. Organizations can win cold hard cash in any of the following ways:

Rescue groups - Check your in-box!
Each week, three rescue groups will be randomly selected to receive e-mail questions about an available cat or dog posted on their website. If a reply with helpful information is returned within 24 hours, the group wins $500.

Shelters - Say Hello!
Each week, three member shelters will be randomly selected to receive a phone call about an available cat or dog posted on their website. If a live person answers the phone and provides helpful information about that animal (or immediately connects the caller to someone who does), the shelter wins $500.

Put Your Best Face Forward
A "secret adopter" will randomly visit one selected shelter in a different state each week. If the "adopter" reports that the shelter experience was positive, pleasant and helpful, the shelter wins $2,000.

Second Chance Prize
New this year is the "Second Chance" prize: Shelters and rescue groups who were contacted by phone or email but did not win an award will get a second chance the last week of the program. Two from each category (phone call and email) will be contacted and selected for a second chance to win $250.

SPECIAL BONUS: CUSTOMER SERVICE WORKBOOKS
Animal Friendly - Customer Smart: People Skills for Animal Shelters, by Jan Elster will be given to contacted shelters and rescues as a special bonus. Organizations that would like to purchase this excellent customer service workbook for $10 can order on line at: www.shelterskills.com. Petfinder.com members who submit their Shelter ID will receive an additional free book for every ten purchased.

FAQ's

Why are you rewarding good customer service with cash prizes?
Maddie's Fund and Petfinder.com believe that good customer service saves lives. The first step in good customer service is to capitalize on the public's enthusiasm for adopting by responding right away when initial contact is made. The second step is to make a potential adopter's experience positive and helpful.

We hope our cash prizes will encourage shelters and rescues to assess their customer service and entice them to improve it if it is lacking.

Will you publish the winners?
Maddie's Fund and Petfinder.com will post the winning shelters and rescues on line each week. We will also enumerate the number of shelters and rescues we e-mailed, called and visited that missed out on the awards.

When will shelters and rescues get their prizes?
The Petfinder.com Foundation will notify winners immediately and distribute cash awards provided by Maddie's Fund the following week.

About Maddie's Fund

Maddie's Fund^®, The Pet Rescue Foundation, is a family foundation which is funded by the founder of Workday and PeopleSoft, Dave Duffield and his wife, Cheryl. Maddie's Fund is helping to create a no-kill nation where all healthy and treatable shelter dogs and cats are guaranteed a loving home.

To achieve this goal, Maddie's Fund is investing its resources in building community collaborations where animal welfare organizations come together to develop successful models of lifesaving; in veterinary colleges to help shelter medicine become part of the veterinary curriculum; and in the implementation of a national strategy to promote accountability and transparency in animal shelter operations. Maddie's Fund is named after the family's beloved Miniature Schnauzer who passed away in 1997.