The Shelter Pet Project Launches Next Wave of PSAs

“A person is the best thing to happen to a shelter pet. Be that person.”

That’s the tagline for a new round of colorful and humorous ads from The Shelter Pet Project that recently rolled out across the country.

The Shelter Pet Project is a nationwide public service advertising campaign, launched in 2009, that dispels myths about shelter pets to boost pet adoptions. A collaborative effort by The Humane Society of the United States, Maddie’s Fund, and the Ad Council, in partnership with the entire animal welfare movement, this multi-million dollar campaign has the potential to change the lives of millions of homeless pets!

The second phase of the campaign introduces a new series of television, radio, print, outdoor, and web ads that focus on the relationship between pets and their owners. The ads feature pets observing their human’s quirky, loveable behaviors, concluding with the message: “A person is the best thing to happen to a shelter pet. Be that person.”

The ads direct viewers to a comprehensive website, www.theshelterpetproject.org, where they can search for a pet from a local shelter or rescue group, read adoption success stories and learn valuable information about pet adoption.

The Ad Council has distributed the new PSAs to more than 33,000 media outlets nationwide, and they will run and air in advertising time and space that is donated by the media — a figure that totaled $57 million in donated air time and media space in the first 18 months of the campaign.

You can help spread the word by visiting the campaign website. There you can share the campaign on Facebook and Twitter, download the PSAs to play in your shelters and at adoption events, and get information on how to contact PSA directors in your area to get the advertisements aired on your local television and radio stations.

We also encourage you to share your own shelter pet adoption stories, especially those about pets who had manageable and treatable medical and behavior issues, or who might have been seen as “hard to adopt” — the older pets, the big black dogs, and the somewhat-less-than-social cats.

And above all, be an ambassador for shelter adoption. Adopt from a shelter or rescue group and talk about it to everyone you know. Your endorsement can play a big part in getting the people you know to adopt!