You’ve seen the PSAs, surfed by the web banners or even driven past the billboards. Thanks to the involvement of some big names, the message is being delivered across 33,000 media outlets, and the message is “adopt”. Instead of those sad puppy faces in sad puppy places (that make even me, a bleeding-heart animal lover, change the channel), you’re treated to dogs and cats being their lovable and silly selves, hamming it up for the camera. Jules trots up, tail and tongue wagging and high-fives the camera. Hamilton wears a hat, Toast wears glasses and Bento plays the piano. On YouTube. They all have more Instragram followers than I do. And they’re all part of the estimated 6.5 million animals that wind up in our shelters annually.

The Shelter Pet Project is the work of The Humane Society of the United States, Maddie’s Fund, and The Ad Council, in their very first animal welfare campaign. Together, with advertising giants DraftFCB and J. Walter Thompson (all pro-bono, btw), they are working to dispel the belief that shelter pets are somehow “damaged goods” and working to make shelters and rescue groups the first stop for finding a pet. And, by the numbers, it looks like they’re making progress.

But those numbers are still staggering. Every year, approximately 6.5 million animals enter our shelters, generally as owner surrenders, strays or innocent bystanders in court cases. The vast majority of these animals are healthy, trainable and, if they’re not already, will be vaccinated and spayed/neutered upon adoption. And, those numbers are actually down from 2011 when an estimated 7.2 million wound up in shelters. What’s worse, there really is only so much shelter space available. The result? Every year, 1.5 million animals are euthanized — over 4,000 pets a day.

The good news is that 3.2 million pets are adopted each year, representing about a third of the 160 million pets in the U.S. And, of the 29 million Americans who will bring home a new pet this year, 30% are considered “swing voters”, undecided about adoption. To break down all these endless statistics into a nice neat little package and paint the clearest of arguments for adoption: if just two more pets per shelter per day were rescued the euthanasia rate would be zero. You read that right, zero.

And that’s where The Shelter Pet Project is making a difference. The focus on the bond between shelter pets and their owners gives adoption a new swagger. By showcasing the personalities of these pets and giving adoption its own brand, the campaign is targeting the swing voters. And, while the shifting numbers reflect the work of many tireless and passionate people locally, The Shelter Pet Project provides a grand-scale legitimacy to the “adopt don’t shop” movement giving it, at long last, a very public and nationwide voice.

“A person is the best thing to happen to a shelter pet. Be that person. Adopt.”

Bald Mike and his shelter dog, Chopper, share the same bed.