Social Paws Campaign Promotes Pet Adoption on #NationalBestFriendsDay

June 8 is National Best Friends Day, and if your BFF happens to bark there’s no better way to celebrate that bond than to help dogs without pet parents find their perfect human pal.

Each year an estimated 7.6 million companion animals– 3.9 million of man’s best friend and 3.4 million of our feline best friends– wind up in the US shelter system. Sadly, only half of these companion animals find a forever home. To shine a spotlight on the option of adoption and show that shelter animals make the best buddies, The Shelter Pet Project recently unleashed the Social Paws campaign.

Using their creativity to encourage potential adopters to visit their local shelter, canines and cats from Humane Rescue Alliance and Lost Dog and Cat Rescue Foundation in Washington, DC employed their social media skills to make “fetching” memes, videos and GIFs so shelter pets can be seen as the stars they are. Interactive toys turned the task into playtime for the pack, enabling the talented tail-waggers build social graphics complete with headlines, backgrounds, emojis and hashtags.

Made possible through a partnership between The Ad Council, The Humane Society of the United States, Maddie’s Fund and J. Walter Thompson, the Social Paws campaign will continue after National Best Friends Day, with future ads appearing to mark National Space Day, National Odometer Day, National Buy a Musical Instrument Day, Eat Your Beans Day, National Moon Day, Hug Your Boss Day and other social media holidays.

If the ad by artistic dogs and cats has convinced you to go in search of your new best furry friend, visit TheShelterPetProject.org to find adoptables in your area, learn about the pet adoption process and read pet adoption stories that all end with a homeless dog or cat living happily ever after with their new forever family.

For more information, follow The Shelter Pet Project on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Photo Credit: The Shelter Pet Project