Few things are cuter, or more social media-friendly, than a good dog pic. But what if you could help man’s best friend while gawking? Dogly, newly launched on iPhone and Android, is a free photo-sharing app for dog lovers founded by canine-rescuing mother-daughter duo Jane Turner and her daughter, Cory. Once logged in, users are able to sign up to donate “loves”—little hearts similar to the kind you can click on in Instagram—to their favorite pups, shelters, and organizations. Each month, Dogly gives out a $1k grant to the shelter with the most loves, as well as four $500 creative grants to users who post the most creative photos (to give to the shelters they play for on the app, not just to buy more dog costumes). Since the app’s launch in December, Dogly has donated $20k+ in grant money to 30 shelters across the United States, and its popularity has spread: users are now playing for hometown shelters from Japan to Canada and beyond.
Dogly is also a pretty fun gaming app. In addition to posting photos of dogs, users can sign up to “play” for their favorite shelter or rescue organization. The more loves a user’s photo gets, the more loves he or she “donates” to his or her specified shelter. Shelters can also create Dogly profiles and add to their total when their own posts of adoptable dogs get loves. Users are able to post photos of dogs in more than a dozen different categories with names like “Profound Pups” and “Oldies but Goodies” (for senior dogs).
One of the adorable pups helped by Dogly was Kennedy:
“Kennedy benefited from a Dogly Do Good grant donated to Georgia Jack Russell. He was found on the side of the road starving and covered in fleas. After multiple tests, they found he had chronic degenerative arthritis of the spine, which means he couldn’t run or chase a ball like other dogs. The grant from Dogly helped get him a “set of wheels” (a doggy wheelchair). He is doing extremely well and has recently been spotted walking around without his wheelchair”
Interestingly, Dogly has a panel of “Executive Creative Dogs” (ECDs) that advise on their mission, and includes “social media dog influencers” @TheVelvetBurritos and @iheartmiles, who both have +70k Instagram followers. This canine cabal recognizes four exceptionally creative photos each month that exemplify the “being Dogly” spirit, and a photo is featured on one of the ECD’s high-profile social media accounts. A $500 Dogly Do Good grant is then donated in the name of the photo’s creator to the shelter in his/her Dogly profile. So why not turn your love of creepin’ on cute dogs into something good?
Click below for some of those aforementioned cute future-social-media-dog-influencers picks:
