Out of the Cage! (August 2010)

"Maria's Pet Project" on LX New York Continues to Spur Pet Adoptions

When TV host and dog parent Maria Sansone launched her pet adoption segment in March on LX New York, NBC 4 New York's daily entertainment and lifestyle show, her vision was to get more homeless dogs into loving homes using the power of television. Six months later, Maria's vision has proved to be spot on: her weekly segment has generated more than 80 adoptions for the Alliance Participating Organizations (APOs) that have appeared on the show. And each week, that number continues to climb.

LX New York is a one-hour live daily lifestyle and entertainment show, produced by LX.TV and WNBC.  The show airs weekdays at 5:00 p.m. ET on WNBC and repeats twice daily on New York Nonstop, NBC 4's 24-hour digital channel. "Maria's Pet Project" is featured every Thursday.

"We're absolutely delighted to have this weekly exposure for our APOs and their dogs," says Diane Gauld, Director of Marketing and Development for the Mayor's Alliance for NYC's Animals. 'Maria's Pet Project' has proven to be an amazing vehicle to promote pet adoption." Diane works with Maria and the show's producer, Kathryn Sheldon, to line up a different APO each week. Although the dogs usually appear live on the Thursday afternoon segment, sometimes an additional segment on a relevant topic, such as microchipping or preparing your home for a new pet, is filmed in advance.

LX New York reaches audiences in the Tri-State and surrounding area, and adopters sometimes travel miles to seal the deal with the rescue group and take their new family member home.

But sometimes the perfect adopter is right there on the set.

That's where NBC 4 New York meteorologist, Janice Huff, met Porter, a three-and-a-half-month-old black Labrador Retriever mix. Porter's original owner had purchased him at two months of age, but then discovered that his work schedule was too demanding for a growing puppy, so he gave Porter up to the The Humane Society of New York.

Janice had lost her long-time black Lab companion last year, and she and her husband had been looking for a new dog — but hadn't found one they both agreed upon. When Janice met Porter at the studio on the day The Humane Society of New York was featured on the show, she called her husband and told him to watch the show. He did, and agreed that Porter was the dog for them.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And so "Maria's Pet Project" continues to create happy matches, and gives shelter dogs their day every Thursday. If you haven't seen the show, be sure to tune in at 5:00 p.m. on NBC 4.

View some more recent segments of "Maria's Pet Project" on LX New York…