The Bloomington Police Department (BPD) has collaborated with the Bloomington Animal Shelter to promote animal adoption since 2014. Officers help out at the shelter and post on social media.
“It is a sense of helping. I mean, as a police officer, that’s what we do, right? We try to help and do the most positive thing,” Sgt. Pam Gladish from BPD, who originally started the “Fur-Ever Friend Friday” project, said.
As a police officer, Gladish said she wanted to do something that would have an impact socially and help her be engaged in the community. Based on past interaction with the animal shelter, she came up with the idea of becoming partners.
Sgt. Pam Gladish talks about the collaboration.
Bloomington Animal Shelter saved more than 2,000 animals in 2018 and achieved an 87% adoption rate. As an open-admission shelter, which means it does not turn away any animals, it works with foster homes to accommodate as many animals as they can.
“We are connected because they have to call us to help animals,” Jenny Gibson, Bloomington Animal Shelter director, said, “Sometimes we have to call them and help us.”
Bloomington Animal Shelter volunteer program director Jenny Gibson talks about how police officers interact with the animals.
Police officers visit the animal shelter to interact with the animals and do a photo shoot every other week. Cats and dogs participating in the activity are mostly difficult to be adopted. They have been staying in the shelter for a longer time or have behavior issues.
Brittany Murphy, who is in charge of the community engagement and social media for BPD, takes photos and composes appealing posts on the Facebook page to expose adoptable animals on social media. BPD spotlights dogs and cats’ characteristics and gives them one more chance to find a forever home.
Gladish had a photo shoot with dogs Archie and Jughead two weeks ago and knew that they had been adopted. “It makes me happy whether not I had helped that adoption or not, ” she said. Gladish enjoyed knowing those two dogs had a great life ahead of them.
Police officers often have a serious and dignified image when they are on duty. They seize the chance of being community members, who can show their human side and emotions by interacting with the animals. “We are human. We have families, pets, houses, and bills just like everybody else, ” Gladish said.
She said that it also gives officers something to look forward to, “Everybody who has been down here to take photos with the animals, they are just kind of investing in animal welfare and it’s just doing the right thing.”
Police officers created a bond with cats and dogs during the photo shoot. “Some interaction with the cats and dogs are the cutest thing you have ever seen, ” Gibson said. Many officers fell in love with the animals and kept going back to check whether they had been adopted.
“Fur-Ever Friend Friday” project has promoted hundreds of animals in the past five years, which gives Gladish a successful feeling. “I am not out always chasing somebody who has broken a law, right?” she said, “I could do something good too.”
Police officers visit the animal shelter every other week to interact with dogs and cats.
