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"Teacup Werewolf": This Shelter Is Rebranding Mixed Breed Dogs And Boosting Adoption Rates
The pup in the video below might look like a typical pit bull, but she's also known as a "swirling cinnamon sugar funnel cake" on social media. In recent years, animal shelter volunteer Adrian Budnick has started giving adoptable canines creative names to increase visibility and boost adoption numbers. It's safe to say her efforts have paid off.
According to the Associated Press, Nashville, Tennessee's Metro Animal Care and Control facility has seen a more than 25 percent rise in adoption rates between 2021 and 2024. The primary reason behind the feat is Budnick's quirky way of promoting the shelter's dogs.
The idea came to the animal photographer and volunteer when the COVID pandemic arrived. Budnick tells AP that she was the only worker allowed to enter the Metro Animal Care and Control facility at the time. She started sharing TikToks as her country-fied, cowboy-hat-wearing character Anita Walker before going viral with her "What's this then?" series. In response to people complaining about shelters not having enough breeds with curly fur, she picked up a curly-haired dog on camera and asked "What's this then?" in what she described as her "Karen" voice. Budnick dubbed the dog a "Himalayan Fur Goblin," and the video was an overnight success. She kept the formula going with more creative breed names: "tater tot terrier," "teacup werewolf," and "speckled freckled cuddle calf," to name a few. The volunteer shared that the shelter's online follower count skyrocketed from 20,000 to 100,000 in about four months.
Metro Animal Care and Control has seen other benefits besides an increase in followers and adoptions. Budnick's videos have also led to more donations of money and supplies to the shelter. It's also led to potential owners specifically asking for dogs using the silly names they heard on TikTok—which the volunteers get a kick out of.
Budnick is aware of the stigma around animal shelters, and she hopes her videos of happy, loved dogs depict a side of shelter life the public doesn't often get to see. Though adoption is the end goal, Metro Animal Care and Control works to ensure its pets are comfortable and happy while in its care.
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Charlotte Mecklenburg Animal Care And Control Searches For Owner Who Abandoned Nine Dogs
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Local animal control officers are searching for the person who they claim dumped nine dogs at the already crowded Charlotte Mecklenburg Animal Care and Control Shelter. WCCB Charlotte's Zane Cina learned how this large number of deserted pets has strained the shelter.
A picture posted to the friends_of_cmas Instagram page shows different crates that were found in front of the shelter early Saturday morning. ACC communications manager, Melissa Knicely said it's an unusual case of abandonment. "It's rare that an employee would get to work, and you would see nine crates outside," Knicely said.
Shelter security cameras caught a Penske truck as it dropped each of the nine the dogs off on the front sidewalk of the building. The shelter received an email just two days prior from someone who wanted to surrender "10 well-cared-for dogs." Staff believe that email was sent by the same person who dropped off the dogs. In their email, the owner said their house caught fire and the dogs had been living in that Penske truck for a few days as a result. Knicely said the shelter replied to the email and explained the shelter's space limits along with the proper steps to surrender an animal. The shelter has not heard back since.
Knicely said the shelter works daily to avoid hitting max capacity. The new nine abandoned dogs have set them back in terms of resources. "We almost can always say we're at capacity for dogs," Knicely said. "It turns so quickly."
Knicely praised programs like fostering and stay-cations which volunteers have taken advantage of to help free up kennel space for new animals. These programs routinely help the shelter to avoid euthanasia options. Knicely urges anyone with interest in helping the shelter to keep its capacity in check, to consider adopting, fostering, or taking pets on a stay-cation. More information on each of those programs can be found at the Charlotte Mecklenburg Animal Care and Control website.
Animal control officers want to find the owner of the nine dogs so they can sign legal surrender paperwork, which will help them to speed up the adoption process of the nine abandoned dogs.
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