The Shelter Pet Project is a campaign headed by The Ad Council, in partnership with The Humane Society of the United States and Maddie’s Fund. The campaign is aimed at increasing the number of pets that get adopted from shelters and rescue groups versus buying them from pet stores or breeders. It has helped chance the landscape of shelter pet adoption and reduce the euthanasia of shelter pets by 10% since its launch in 2009. The number of pets being put down dropped from 3 million to 2.7 million, the campaign's goal is to make that number reach 0.
Their television, radio, print, outdoor and web ads focus on shelter pets observing their owners quirky yet loveable behaviors, concluding with the message that, “A person is the best thing to happen to a shelter pet”. All of the ads direct prospective pet owners to a comprehensive website, The Shelter Pet Project, where users are able to search for a pet from a local shelter or rescue group, read adoption success stories and learn valuable information about pet adoption. See the cute video below and check out others on the Shelter Pet Project YouTube page.
My take: I would like to see the Shelter Pet Project reach their goal, moreover, see others helping the cause. There are many people that don't understand that the pet overpopulation is a tragic problem, there are over 2.7 million pets being euthanized at pet shelters yearly, and those are only the ones accounted for. There are people who let these pups go free on the street before they are even weened because of the time, effort and cost of keeping them after their dog got pregnant, most likely "on accident". Others that add to the problem are back-yard breeders who sell dogs.
I have 3 dogs, two of which I adopted and 1 which I rescued from someone who was literally just going to drop her off on a sidewalk. She was only 2 weeks old and a little bigger than my hand. One of my adopted dogs was 1 1/2 years old when I got him. He is the sweetest dog and he lights up when he sees me. I could tell by his way of being that he came from an abusive family but with all the love that me and my family have shown him, he has become much friendlier and very loyal. He is now a little over 3 years old and earlier this year we went through the horror of him being stolen. A week went by and I couldn't sleep, as I was in tears worrying about him, wondering what horrific things they could be doing to him. The feeling and experience were horrible. It affected us very much.
At that time we decided to adopt another dog. He was about 2 months old when we got him, a baby the size of my 1st dog. We thankfully got the call from a dog rescue about 10miles away saying someone dropped of my dog that was stolen. Ever since then, he and the baby of the house have been inseparable. These dogs are my life, they are part of our family and we wouldn't be one without them. It hurts my heart that people let dogs that deserve love and care in shelters die. The feeling of walking through the shelters knowing that these dogs won't probably leave anytime soon (and might die that same day) is heart-breaking. The Pet Shelter Project is doing a great deed bringing to light the reality of things. Our pet overpopulation won't end soon, the choice you make when you bring a pet into your family will. Shelter and rescue dogs are the way to go, make their day and they will make yours.
Disclaimer: I was selected for this campaign by Latina Bloggers Connect. All opinions are my own.
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