We hear it all the time, “I have no time”, “I have no money”, “he/she pee’ed in the house” or “our Dad/Mom dies and we don’t want it” – every time we hear/see these excuses as to why a dog/cat has been abandoned it makes our skin crawl. We have seen animals called “it” – we have seen them dragged into a shelter – literally seeing the fear in their faces.

As animal lovers, we may never understand why or how someone can do this to an animal. But it happens, every single day at shelters all over the world.

But then you also have the animals that are dumped out in the big wide world with no ability to fend for themselves. Dogs and cats who have had a home will truly struggle in the elements, have no real skills to find food and will have a hard time fighting off predators. If you think taking your unwanted pet to a shelter is bad – this is much, much worse!

In an effort to make an emotional plea, there are some advertising campaigns that we have seen that we think do a great job at pulling at the heart strings! They each have their own unique angle, and we hope by putting these out there we can at least get people to surrender pets to shelters – and NOT release them in the wild somewhere.

All images are owned by their respective creators who have been noted in each campaign description. 

Abandoned Animal Campaign #1

This first set was created by Havas Worldwide Geneva and does a great job of showing the reasons animals are often left homeless – from a new baby to an owner passing away. This ad campaign was created for the Geneva SPCA to promote the fact that you can bring pets to them for re-homing.

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Animal Abandonment Campaign #2

The next set we found on Behance and was created for ENPA (Ente Nazionale Protezione Animal). It is a unique take on animal abandonment which showcases the animals as “garbage”. By printing the art on tissues, they are enforcing the idea of animals not being disposable.

These are the images that are printed on the tissues:

These are the print ads that go with the campaign to drive home how animals are not to be abandoned or thrown away like trash!

The ad title for this print ad is “Would you trash my friendship?

The ad title for this print ad is “Would you really want to trash me?

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Animal Abandonment Campaign #3

Created by the advertising agency Lowe, this campaign is simplistic in its design – but has a huge impact. A Dalmation dumped at a soccer field – a dog left in an empty home, these definitely draw you in and tell the story loud and clear. The last image of a dog on a chain outside an abandoned building is the one that impacted us the most.

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Animal Abandonment Campaign #4

Created by Elisa De Lima for the RSPCA (Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals) – below are several campaign themes that focus on abandonment called Hunting, Not Playing and Portraits. Each focuses on a unique aspect of abandonment and puts you in the dogs perspective. All 3 are exceptional examples of abandonment awareness campaigns!

This campaign is called “Hunting” and focuses on the idea that when you dump your animals – they will NOT stop looking for you.

Th next campaign she created was called “Portraits” and tells the stories of dogs that feel guilty for making their owners “go away”. They take on the responsibility for people abandoning them – this is such a strong angle for an ad.

Her last campaign is called “Not Playing” and is a play on Hide and Seek where the dogs think the owners left to play a game and the dog is supposed to find them. But they cannot find them and soon lose interest in the game. A total tearjerker campaign that makes you think and feel!

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Animal Abandonment Campaign #5

The following videos were created by the Advertising Agency Buzzman for the 30 Millions d’Amis Foundation.

This video is only in French, but it still brings tears to the eyes.

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Animal Abandonment Campaign #6

This one is a little bit longer and takes on a “movie” quality campaign created by Zsemberi Film – but it is POWERFUL! It is a play on how dogs are our children and they do a magnificent job of making the point clear on how a dog feels as a family begins to lose interest. Bring the tissues for this one.