I wasn’t sure how I felt about these two videos, both from the British Columbia Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. They didn’t make me want to kill myself, but they did kind of weird me out with their notion of dogs as substitute humans. I also thought the first was vaguely homophobic and the second a little too close to child cruelty.

Is it just me feeling gloomy today? What do you think?

26 thoughts on “Pet Adoption Videos That Don’t Make Me Want to Kill Myself, #8”

    1. Thanks for your take, Debbie. You’re right that the guys themselves didn’t seem disgusted but I thought that it played a bit on a potential negative audience response. Better get a pet than risk petting a guy?

  1. The second falls flat for me. I don’t see how it will promote dog adoption. Using dogs joyfully fetching and lovingly bumping a child or a family would be something I’d share on Facebook and Twitter.
    So it is not just you, who finds #2 video pointless.

    1. Yes, I think you’ve hit on what bothers me a bit about both, Deborah — there’s no sense of joy of actual interacting with pets.

  2. A nice break from chickens. Thanks.

    They’re a little quirky up there in BC.

    The first one didn’t strike me as being homophobic at all. Just surprising.

    As for the second? Yeah, a little off.

    Still, I like the concept of these ads. I didn’t see the ads as saying that dogs are substitute humans. Quite the contrary. I see them a saying that our relationship with our dog is unique. There are things we can enjoy doing with our dogs—belly rubs and playing catch in the lake (for example)— that we don’t (or can’t) do with people.

    1. Hey, thanks for dropping in from chicken-land! And thanks for the feedback. I like your interpretations — clearly the ones that were intended. I’d hate to think of those nice people up in British Columbia having wasted grant money on PSAs that didn’t work πŸ˜‰

    1. Oooh, I love Midnight Kitty Madness! It was an earlier entry in this series– thanks for posting the link in your comment.

  3. Hmmm… Very weird, I agree. Neither video really made me smile or laugh, just left me kind of confused. The first one was kind of funny but I don’t really get why someone would want to make a child fetch a ball from the water. It’s just very strange. (But then, IMO, the BCSPCA is kind of strange in the way they handle things anyway. :-P)

    If they were trying to get people talking, I guess they succeeded!

    1. Ah, some insight into the local SPCA… I won’t ask (well, I just did, but I won’t expect an answer)!

  4. The first one would have amused me had it not said, basically, that the guy shouldn’t have been petting the other guy. I didn’t see it as homophobic, just pointless. The second was awful and pointless. Both require far too much parsing before an audience will respond and get the point. I guess it’s just a cultural difference between Canada and US (even though we forget that there is a difference).

  5. I found both commercials on this side of odd, but if I had to pick one, it would be the two guys on the sofa. It brought a little smile to my face. It’s not like they could have used a woman or a child. If the video would have had a woman, it would have looked like sexual harrassment and using a kid just would have been just wrong :O

    1. Susan, these are amazing! I’d like to see if I can get Austin Humane Society to let me post them. Do you have a contact there? Otherwise I’ll go through the site’s blog.

      1. Aren’t they great! I do not know folks there — I know folks at the 2 shelters that are closer to my side of town. If you have any hiccoughs contacting them, let me know — I know several people who know people there and could make connections for you.

  6. I live in BC…so I guess I’ll wear my quirkiness as a badge of honour. πŸ˜‰

    While I “get” the message these PSAs are trying to convey (the unique relationship with a pet), I think I need touch more humour in order for it to hit the mark for me. That’s because I’ve had my fill of the Sarah McLachlan maudlin SPCA videos from a few years ago.

    1. Kathy, it was the Sara McLachlan videos that got me started on this project of posting nondepressing videos. If you search on this site for “pet adoption videos” or “spay and neuter with a smile” you’ll find several that are much funnier than these two.

  7. For the first video, I never even got to the issue of whether it was homophobic or not. As soon as I saw the guy picking up his buddy, I saw Michelangelo’s Pieta. So I’m already thinking the video might offend some religious sensibilities.

    But since I didn’t see that comment from any one else, I’ll just assume my husband is right and that I’m a freak of nature who just doesn’t think like anyone else.

    As a childless person, I found the second one vaguely funny. But it didn’t make me want to adopt a dog.

    Now a video of a dog–that makes me want to adopt a dog.

    1. Now that you point it out, I can see the Pieta reference. I’m not sure that most people would immediately get it though so, although everyone is easily offended when it comes to religion, I suspect we’re safe on that front.

      Now, now, freak of nature is harsh. I’d say original mind. Why would I ask you to be on my accountability committee otherwise? πŸ˜‰

  8. Just showed the videos to my husband who guffawed at both. Maybe they’re dog adoption videos that only work on men.

    Sorry, Edie, you just don’t have enough testosterone.

    1. Hmmm, we’ll have to get some other guys to weigh in here to see if it’s a testosterone thing or a “your husband” thing.

  9. OMG! I had to run to the litter box to avoid an unfortunate accident when I was viewing the Austin videos–the rapping Border Collie especially slayed me. I must visit Austin.

    1. Austin IS awesome. And I emailed the shelter to see if I could feature the videos — plus an interview with how they were created — on my blog. And they said yes. Details to come. So stay tuned!

      1. Great — I see you have made contact. I LOVE LOVE LOVE the rapper Border Collie (and the others too)! And yes, Austin IS awesome. Come on down!

  10. Uhh, these were weird, and did leave me somewhat saying “what?” Agree with whoever said they needed more humor. A clear message would be good…the Austin Humane Society link was fun.

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