Dallas Animal Services Wins $200,000 Investment

Dallas Animal Services (DAS) competed in the third-annual Innovation Showdown Wednesday, April 17, and won a $200,000 investment for its customer service app, the Dallas90 Shelter Service System (D90SSS). The money will go toward funding the development and implementation of this application, the city in a news release.

“We are incredibly honored that so many experts in our field recognized the value of our concept and trust DAS to bring that concept to fruition,”Ed Jamison, Director of Dallas Animal Services, said in the release. “We believe that the Dallas90 Shelter Service System will help DAS, and shelters across the country, eliminate the need to euthanasia adoptable animals for space.”

Some of the features of the app include:

• Map to help navigate the shelter to find an animal's kennel
• QR codes to retrieve information about animals
• Staff notifications for meet-and-greets
• Adoption or lost pet reunion with the push of a button
• Sign up to foster or volunteer

The app also allows people to use a Facebook portal integration to access face-to-face help in real-time from the adoption team without ever leaving the kennel of the selected animal.
Innovation Showdown is a collaborative project bringing the nation's top animal welfare organizations together to invest in lifesaving innovation, the city said. Modeled after "Shark Tank," the hit ABC TV program, participants seeking funding to save animal lives.