We Don’t Want to Lose You. But We Can No Longer Show Our Work Properly On X

Let’s be clear from the start. We are not an organisation that is failing and looking for something to blame. We are a highly effective one.

We do not just rescue dogs. We work at the root of the problem:

• large-scale street dog management

• clinical intervention

• policy pressure

• long-term welfare strategy

We operate in politically difficult environments. We maintain credibility with people in positions of power.
We do the work that is often avoided because it is complex, sensitive, and not easily packaged. And we do it consistently.

So When We Say Something Has Changed, It Matters

For most of this year, we have been saying the same thing, our visibility has dropped on X. Our engagement has dropped on X

Not slightly. Not occasionally. Consistently. And we are not alone.

Other organisations doing serious, real-world animal welfare work are reporting the same.

The Default Explanation Doesn’t Hold

When reach falls, the response is predictable, post better, try harder. Adapt.

But that only makes sense if the system is neutral. It isn’t.

Our Own Data Tells a Different Story

We don’t need theory. We have direct comparison.

On Bluesky:

• Fewer than 3,000 followers

• Strong reach

• Real engagement

On Substack:

• Just over 3,000 subscribers

• Content is read, shared, and understood

Now compare that to X (formerly Twitter), where our audience is significantly larger, 22,000

The result:

Less reach. Less engagement. Less visibility.

Same organisation. Same work. Same posts. Different outcome.

We Can No Longer Show Our Work Properly

This is where the problem becomes impossible to ignore. We can no longer consistently show our patients.

The reality of our clinic work, injury, treatment, recovery, is increasingly restricted, filtered, or suppressed.

So the very work people follow us for is the work they are least likely to see.

That matters. Because animal welfare is not a single moment.

It is an arc:

• what happened

• what was done

• what the outcome was

People follow us for that arc. They should be able to see it. But increasingly, they cannot.

And when clinical work is a significant part of what we do, this is not a minor limitation. It fundamentally changes what people are able to understand about the work.

Access Now Comes at a Cost

We cannot publish news or full articles directly on X (formerly Twitter) without paying for premium access, currently around £40 per month.

We do not pay this. And even if we could, we would not take money away from the dogs to fund platform access.

So we publish on Substack instead. We don’t email articles out because we publish a lot of content. We don’t want to overwhelm inboxes with articles. Our articles are published on substack for you to access when you wish to see them. We also publish notes there which are similar to X posts.

Free. Accessible. Unrestricted.

Even Supporting Us Is Restricted

We are often asked why we do not offer subscriptions on X. We cannot.

To unlock that feature, the platform requires:

• 2,000 bluetick subscribers

• roughly 5 million impressions per quarter

We do not meet those thresholds. We used to before the algorithm changed.

Meanwhile, Smaller Platforms Still Work

On Facebook, with just over 1,000 followers, we can offer supporter subscriptions without those barriers. Same with substack.

On Substack, we can publish freely. On Bluesky, our work is actually seen.

That contrast is not subtle.

This Is Not About Effort

Our work is the same. We have not reduced output. We have not diluted the work. We have not stepped back.

What has changed is not what we do. It is what is allowed to be seen.

The Reality

This is not a sudden collapse. It is a narrowing:

• Less reach for real-world, complex work

• More reliance on paid access

• Higher thresholds for visibility

• Reduced ability to show clinical reality

For organisations like ours, working at scale and under pressure, this matters. Because we are not producing content for entertainment. And that is what the algorithm on X wants.

We are documenting reality. That will never change.

What This Means for You

If you feel like you are seeing less of our work, you are.

Not because we have slowed down. Not because the need has gone away.

But because the systems you are used to are no longer showing it in the same way. We have completely changed what we show you because X punishes us when we show it to you as we did before. We can be restricted for showing something as benign as a dog with a shaved paw or a dog wearing a cone. That needs to change.

Where You Can Still Find the Work

From 1st May we are returning to our normal way of presenting our work to you.

But where you will see it will be changing.

You will find it fully and without restriction on:

• Substack

• Bluesky

• Facebook

If you want to follow the work properly & fully this is where it will live from May 1st. Otherwise it will be on X in the same limited way we are forced to present it now. And there will be less of it as we focus on building other platforms.

A Final Word

We have built something here over the last five years. A community that understands the work, that follows the cases, that stays with the dogs from beginning to end.

That matters to us more than anything. And we do not want to lose that.

Starting again somewhere new where fewer people know us, where the work has to find its way back into view is not easy.

But it is where the work can still be shown properly. And that is important.

We will still be on X. That won’t change. But it will not be in the same way.

So if you have followed us, supported us, or simply cared about what we do please come and find us on other platforms.

Stay with us. Because the work continues. And it matters that you are able to see it.

With love, respect & hope for the future

Michelle & the dogs x