The program specifically wants to give a virtual glow-up to dogs who are most in need, like those who have been in shelters for long periods of time, older dogs who may be in poor health or have disabilities, medium or large dogs, dogs with dark coats and dogs with lower adoption rates (like Pitbulls, Labrador Retrievers and German Shepherds).
Since the program kicked off in mid-November, the Pixel Pawtraits team has been on the ground at shelters in San Diego, New York and Atlanta, with plans to visit more in the coming weeks. Shelters are selected based on a variety of criteria, including each shelter’s mission, whether it’s a nonprofit and most importantly whether it is a no-kill shelter (meaning healthy or treatable animals are not euthanized based on time limits or capacity).
“When the personality of a dog can come through in a photo and somebody can really connect to them, that’s what gets their foot in the door for rescue,” says Lauren, who runs The Animal Pad’s social media pages. “And that can be the game changer for everything.”