And so I think the way that people care for community animals in areas where it's maybe less easy to just say like, not my problem, put them in an animal shelter . In America, it's almost too easy to just say, oh, this cat's on my lawn.
In America, it's almost too easy to just say, oh, this cat's on my lawn. Bring them to the animal shelter . That actually isn't the best thing for cats.
What kind of damage are you doing to people out there? The perception of the animal shelter is so important. And you're really not doing any favors for traffic to the animal shelter .
And here's the other really insane thing about it. Go to the animal shelter .
And this was a project, again from Microsoft, where they asked us to build the world's largest scavenger hunt. This woman works at an animal shelter .
And so I was, like, please send me, because I can't handle one more of these boring exams. So I went to the local animal shelter . And I remember growing up, going there as a kid.
And I don't think any of us ever thought this would actually pass, because there were so many things up for bond election that year. And everything failed except the animal shelter . And I actually-- because I was there in the implementation of going for the bond, but I left for this job right when
I mean, it is like a tiny remote island. And they have one vet clinic and there's no animal shelter . But the community members who live in Lamu, it's a fishing island.
And I'm like, wow, this is pretty cool. So I started volunteering at the West LA Animal Shelter . I said, do you guys need help with photography?
So this is sort of a typical intake shot that you're going to find. As of a few years ago at an animal shelter , not exactly a great marketing tool for little Gloria here, you know? You see this and generally, you're going to be a little bit terrified.
And this is just a volunteer deal. So I started volunteering at the West LA Animal Shelter , taking pictures of dogs and cats to help increase adoptions. I just wandered in there, and said, "You guys need a hand?" They said sure.
So I was traveling around to-- here's Olive. And when these dogs and cats come into the animal shelter , they're coming in from of variety of circumstances, most of which probably aren't very positive. They have no idea what's going on.
First with cats. These are typical intake shots you might find at an animal shelter as of several years ago. Still today, if you hop onto a public animal shelter website, you might see a lot of very negative images. I'm not a fan of that.
The perception of the animal shelter is so important. And you're really not doing any favors for traffic to the animal shelter . Because people see images, like this, and the videos on TV.
I want you to optimize for joy. That doesn't mean you stop working entirely, but maybe you start volunteering at the animal shelter that you've always wanted to be a volunteer at. Or maybe it means you're able to offer free childcare to your children to watch your grandbabies.
of those lessons learned and make a difference in our own municipalities, in our own communities? Yeah. I mean I think the biggest thing is just transforming the way we think about animal shelters, like an animal shelter is not just a facility that should receive and deal with animals, whether that's through adoption or euthanasia.
And when you're on sensory overload, you might not be in the best space to adopt an animal, to find your animal. And there was no liability, necessarily, on the animal shelter , on the groups who were also participating it, or on Best Friends.
Olive. You know, when these dogs and cats come into the animal shelter -- I want you to look at Chubbs. And they look so funny because they're stressed out here a little bit.
This is a shot. And just as a reminder to folks that you can find wonderful pets at your local animal shelter .
And this is how it all started for me. First with cats. These are typical intake shots you might find at an animal shelter as of several years ago. Still today, if you hop onto a public animal shelter website, you might see a lot of very negative images.
And here's the other really insane thing about it. And I was like wouldn't it be great if So Delicious donated $10,000 to an animal shelter for stealing my photo?