Cambridge humane society uses creative tales to promote homeless pets
Shelter employee turns anonymous animals into colourful characters to help find loving homes
CAMBRIDGE — Homeless pets might not be able to tell their tales of woe, but they do have a forever friend willing to give them a voice in order to find a loving place to call home.
Those who follow Cambridge and District Humane Society’s social media posts may be familiar with the work of shelter employee and animal advocate Michelle DaSilva.
Many shelters advertise basic details about lost and abandoned animals in a bid to find them new homes, merely adding a photo, breed description, gender, age and adoption status.
Not DaSilva. Cognizant of the reach of online media like the society’s website and Facebook page, she takes full advantage of their promotional powers to improve chances for homeless animals seeking a new happy place.
To accomplish that, DaSilva draws upon her creative storytelling talents, and an imaginative sense of humour, to turn anonymous animals into a cast of colourful characters, complete with their own intriguing profile stories.
“Generally, when the animals come in here, they’re strays, we have zero background,” explained DaSilva. “All we see is this furry little creature sitting there looking at us, waiting to figure out who he or she is.”
With little to go on, shelter employees make time to get to know each animal’s personality, strengths and weaknesses, taking note of quirks that often make for endearing qualities.
After researching what best engages audiences on social media, DaSilva decided to give animals humorous names and stories to match their personalities. Adorable accessories, like bow and neck ties, boost the swag factor in mini photo shoots, too.
“How do you get this animal to stand out from any other animal looking for a home? We’re not the only shelter in the world. We have to try to figure what is it that’s going to work for this animal.”
While traditional adoption advertising approaches embrace hard luck stories, DaSilva promotes pets with a more lighthearted approach, even putting a positive spin on potentially negative characteristics. For example, a cat up for adoption might not be good in a home with other pets, but would be a perfect companion for a pet owner willing to entertain a monogamous relationship with a furry friend.
“Every one of them, I’m sure they have a sad story, but you can’t sit there and focus on poor ‘Fluffy’ is homeless,” said DaSilva.
Then there’s Bueller, the dog, who much like the Ferris Bueller character in the ’ 80s movie “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off,” has selective hearing, choosing to do his own thing. His adoption post on Facebook describes him as a friendly free spirit, who can find himself in trouble without loving supervision.
“Life moves pretty fast,” reads his character profile. “If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it. Don’t miss out on life and don’t miss out on me!”
DaSilva draws inspiration from movies, TV comedies and trending memes on social media to come up with names, resulting in posts last fall like a kitten named Pumpkin Spice, who apparently has an affinity for lattes, yoga tights and selfies.
“You have to relate to what people are doing now, and find that catchphrase, that something that’s going to get that animal noticed,” she said. “That’s when people hit that share button. That’s when they email their friends. They become invested in that story. Whether or not they’re looking to adopt, they’re using that social media platform to get our animals out for us.”
In November and December, the Cambridge humane society helped adopt out 88 cats, 16 dogs and three rodents.
Judging by the Facebook follows, shares and comments, people are appreciating DaSilva’s efforts, sharing her posts, ultimately helping animals find homes in the process. The humane society’s Facebook posts easily get 300-plus shares and hundreds of comments.
Advisers cautioned DaSilva not to write posts from a pet’s perspective, but she knew it was the right approach.
“It’s their words, not necessarily mine. I’m just typing for them. It’s my job. They can’t type.”
Not only have the posts helped find new homes for animals, they have also helped generate cash, food and supply donations, right down to new bow ties for photo shoots. The posts also help advertise fundraisers including the annual Poochie Power Walk.
“We want people in the community to know we are here. We have animals that need homes. They need you.”