The Blue Cross of India has introduced the 'Click to Rescue' service on WhatsApp in Chennai, starting Wednesday, in order to facilitate the rescue of ill and injured animals across the city.
Currently available only in Chennai, the organisation has created a WhatsApp link on the contact page of their website and on their Facebook page. If you click it, it will automatically take you to WhatsApp messenger, which is one way to report or request a rescue. Another way that one can use it is with the help of the direct WhatsApp number mentioned with which they can just send the photo and location directly to Blue Cross.
"Dear animal lovers, As promised, we are introducing the 'Click to Rescue' service starting today. To use this facility, just click on the link given below or send a WhatsApp message to 9962998886. Click to rescue: https://wa.me/919962998886. This helpline is only to report / request rescue for ill and injured animals. While sending us a message, kindly include your name, contact number, photo of the animal and current location of the animal. Note: For other information, please call our landline," a post on Blue Cross' Facebook page stated.
This will majorly help with locating animals in distress. "We get around 150 calls a day, we have three landlines, every call we have will take all the details of the animals that we will rescue and they each last around 10 minutes on an average. Many of the people really get frustrated as the line is not picked up or the line being engaged. That's when we thought that we will have a dedicated WhatsApp line where people can send photographs as well as the location of the animals and send it to us directly. We will transfer that to our drivers immediately and they can go and pick it up. The advantage here is more than a landline call, WhatsApp has the location sharing feature. It's really useful as the time for searching the animal will be reduced drastically," says Mohanakannan P, Board Member, Blue Cross India.
He also adds that it will be very helpful to people who are calling for rescues. "When people call sometimes they miss out on certain details in the description of the animal, for example, someone is going to work, on their way they see an animal that needs to be rescued, there they do not know the location or pin code, thus the WhatsApp number will be helpful as they can share the location directly to us. Drivers will find it easy to go and pick up the animal. Photos can be very helpful too," explains Mohanakannan.
