Animal
Mugshot Leads to More Adoptions According to Igor Purlantov
Igor Purlantov has been closely following the recent trend of animal
shelters using professional animal mugshot campaigns to help increase the rate
of adoptions. This has been very helpful
especially for certain pets that are harder to adopt, including black cats and
dogs. According to animal rights
advocate Igor Purlantov, animal shelter wоrkеrѕ even have a name for this
problem and have coined the term "black dog syndrome" This is based on the reality that blасk dogs
and cats are unfortunately often the last to be adopted and the first to be
euthanized.
Igor Purlantov says there are no complete statistics, although there is
plenty of anecdotal evidence and many possible explanations for the bias. These explanations include silly superstitions
such as the notion that black cats are associated with witches, superstition,
and bad luck. Igor Purlantov also notes
that there are many negative portrayals of black pets in books and popular
media, including the big, frightening black dog in the movies. Finally there is also the simple logistical
problem that animals in general are hard to photograph and blасk animals are sometimes
even harder to photograph and therefore hard to publicize.
Igor Purlantov says that to combat the problem, animal shelters have come
up with a variety of creative measures including professional mugshot campaigns
to improve the quality of pet photographs.
Along with professional mugshot campaigns, shelters have also reduced
adoption fees to increase the adoption rate of hard to adopt animals. Igor Purlantov believes that shelters have
become more effective at trying to combat black dog syndrome by using animal
mugshot campaigns which provide better quality pictures of the animals and also
allow for the personality of each pet to stand out.
Igor Purlantov notes that thanks to people such as photographer Seth
Casteel of Little Friends Photo in Los Angeles, these animal mugshot campaigns
are really making a difference. Professional
photographers and animal lovers such as Mr. Casteel hear about black dog
syndrome all of the time and admit that any shelter pet can pose a photo
challenge, especially black cats and dogs.
Igor Purlantov says that Mr. Casteel has spent at least a day a week
volunteering at shelters across the country taking beautiful mugshot pictures
of available cats and dogs of all colors.
Igor Purlantov says that Mr. Casteel has even launched a free nationwide
non-profit program called Second Chance Photos to teach volunteers how to take
good mugshot photos of shelter pets. According
to Mr. Casteel, shelters should change lightening, use light colored blankets
and even dress up animals to get the best mugshot photo. He notes that the easiest way to make a black
dog look friendlier is to put a bright yellow bandanna on them. Igor Purlantov says that the best thing to do
in these mugshot photos is showcase the unique and positive personality of each
animal. Each time a photographer takes a
great mugshot photo, the chances of that animal being adopted increases
dramatically. At the end of the day, a
good photographer for shelter pets is worth their weight in gold says Igor
Purlantov.
