The dog’s graying muzzle proves she’s no youngster. She’s been bred so many times her swollen nipples hang down.
The cat’s scarred face is evidence of too much time on the street. He’s wary of strangers but warms up quickly.
No aggression. No medical problems.
They sit in shelter kennels and cages for weeks, overlooked by visitors considering younger, more attractive pets to adopt.
As strays continue to flood the shelter, space is maxed, euthanasia is real.
That’s where emotional marketing—also known as “sadvertising”—comes in. Sorrowful communications evoke passionate responses, making people more likely to donate money, buy a product or adopt a pet.
The American SPCA and Humane World for Animals (formerly Humane Society of the United States) have perfected sadvertising. Sarah McLachlan singing “In the Arms of an Angel” for an ASPCA animal-abuse commercial brought in a reported $30 million.
Hilary Bagley Franzoia, a member of the city’s Animal Wellbeing Commission, says, “I get contacted by a lot of folks who want to save an animal. They want to see a list from the shelter of the death row dogs. You talk about life saving, that’s one way to do it.”
Yet the city’s Front Street Animal Shelter wants nothing to do with emotional marketing. Shelter Manager Phillip Zimmerman calls it a “scare tactic” that stops people from visiting the shelter to adopt.
“It is going to make them feel sad,” Zimmerman says. “They don’t want their children to see that. They don’t want their spouses to see that.”
Other shelters take a different approach. Volunteers at the county’s Bradshaw Animal Shelter network to promote hard-to-place pets on social media. Facebook posts use terms such as “almost out of time,” “final plea” and “tomorrow is his last day.”
“People see the deadline and it motivates them to go,” community member Jamie McDole tells the Animal Wellbeing Commission. “This is a resource that Front Street is missing out on by hiding the animals that are at risk.”
Former Front Street volunteer Laila Adora spent years working with shelter dogs facing euthanasia. She shared videos on her personal social media and saved hundreds of dogs. “I know with certainty that the more people who know their stories, the more lives can be saved,” Adora tells the commission.
In 2024, Zimmerman shut her down. Adora says she was told she could no longer volunteer if she continued to use the words “at risk of euthanasia” on her personal social media.
“Instead of being supported, I was retaliated against for speaking honestly,” Adora says.
Animal advocate Julie Virga with Fix Our Shelters says, “Volunteers like Laila, who has saved countless lives, are routinely told they cannot say or repeat that healthy, adoptable animals are being killed at Front Street.”
In 2023, Front Street took in 7,726 strays and euthanized 1,132 animals. In 2024, it was 8,456 strays and 1,463 euthanized. This year is on target to surpass both numbers.
Front Street has no policy providing direction on who lives and who dies. Zimmerman says the shelter is working on protocols after a city audit found Front Street “lacks comprehensive, documented policies and procedures, which can lead to inconsistent practices.”
For now, reasons for killing include medical/untreatable, physical condition, behavior, kennel stress and space.
But most people don’t connect to labels or stats. They connect to stories that provoke powerful emotions.
For hard-to-place pets, Bradshaw focuses on personality, strengths and needs. “We’ve found this approach to be more effective in inspiring adopters to see the animal as an individual rather than a statistic,” shelter spokesperson Brittani Peterson says.
Commissioner Samantha Christie suggests a link to “long-timers” on Front Street’s website, “so not everyone is being exposed to the more sad side.”
Commissioner Paula Treat says, “It doesn’t mean you have to put their face right up front—this guy is going to die.” She suggests a link to “special urgent cases” for adopters to consider.
Zimmerman says, “If that’s something this commission would like to put forward in their plan, you can do that. But it’s not something I’m going to support.
“I will not do that to the Front Street Animal Shelter.”
Cathryn Rakich can be reached at cathrynrakich@gmail.com. Follow us on Facebook and Instagram: @insidesacramento.
