A pet store in Brazil swapped all of its animals with shelter pets and proved its customers that shelter pets were no different than purebred animals. The store found owners for all shelter animals displayed in the store, and what’s best, if the store hadn’t told customers the animals were shelter pets, customers would have not known the difference.
In Brazil, as in many other countries, there is an over abundance of homeless animals. People there buy purebred animals for exorbitant prices rather than adopt shelter pets for no cost at all. A local pet store in conjunction with an animal organization called Four Paws (Quatro Patinhas), ran an experiment to prove community members that shelter pets’ lives were worth saving. The experiment proved Brazilians would want to buy shelter animals if these were displayed in pet stores instead of keeping the animals in the shelters.
Rescue or mixed breed pets have a negative stigma in the South American country. People looking for animals there don’t consider visiting a shelter because they believe mixed breed dogs are unworthy of ownership. Â However, when shelter animals were displayed in glass cages, what customers saw were cute lovable faces they all wanted to take home.
The experiment was videotaped and has gone viral in Brazil and worldwide. Animal rescue organizations hope people who have never considered adopting a pet see the video and understand shelter pets are worth saving.
Adopt, don’t shop.
