Love at first lick: WOOF Project aims to set dog adoption record

The initiative is about changing the status quo surrounding animal adoption, and breaking the world record would be a double-win.

Cape Town-based “pop-up” dog adoption initiative Woof Project plans to have a new Guinness Book world record go to the dogs – literally.

The organisation will be setting up in Melrose Arch on Saturday to attempt the record for the most dogs adopted by one agency in one day.

Pre-applications have been open for the past week to enable Woof to do home checks and ensure the correct protocols are in place, before uniting previously unloved furbabies with their new furever families.

The WOOF Project is an initiative of non-profit organisation Oscars Arc, dedicated to inspiring dog adoption. The project launched its first pop-up mobile adoption installation in Cape Town in 2017, and has spared the lives of 1,816 dogs’ lives, increasing dog adoptions in the Western Cape alone by 40%.

WOOF takes dogs from existing shelters and essentially markets them through innovative design, and makes them available to adopt. Exposure is paramount in the gloomy world of dog adoption – the cuter and more accessible the dog, the more likely it is to be adopted.

Oscars Arc markets and names dogs in a way that grabs prospective owners’ attention. Image: website

Dog adoption has been slow on the uptake in South Africa, with statistics currently sitting at an adoption rate of 12%. This means that out of the approximately 25,000 dogs that enter the eight primary “kill” shelters in the Western Cape, only about 2,500 get out alive.

This depressing reality for dogs and other animals is usually tied to the stigma that shelter dogs are “damaged goods”. People also don’t want to see the ugly side of pet ownership, and shelters can be a difficult experience for some. But these are not excuses, and the Woof Project wants to break the stereotypes associated with saving the lives of animals that have been previously loved.

In fact, there are many perks to adopting instead of buying from a breeder. Animals are usually sterilised and vaccinated before they stroll into your home, and older pets are often already trained and socialised.

WOOF has gone out of their way to make it even easier to find your next furry friend by pushing a customer-driven dog adoption experience. This includes a name your price adoption fee, as well as “lifetime satisfaction guarantee”.

This groundbreaking initiative, and the subsequent world record attempt, is just one of many ways that Oscars Arc and the WOOF Project are trying to convince people that adopting is always better than shopping, and with alarming and often disturbing rates of animal cruelty and neglect in South Africa alone, shelter animals need all the help they can get.

The person behind the WOOF Project is Joanne Lefson. The project is powered by Oscars Arc, an organisation established by Lefson as a lasting legacy to her adopted dog, Oscar. Oscar and Lefson have travelled to 43 countries around the world together, all in the name of pushing adoption and changing the status quo surrounding this issue.

“There are incredible dogs dying for a second chance in shelters. If people could just see them and meet them, they would all be adopted,” Lefson explained.

Lefson has one goal with the WOOF Project and Oscars Arc – to see all shelter animals adopted. And this weekend’s record attempt will certainly put this in motion.

Oscars Arc has an adoption rate of 97.2%, and has single-handedly increased the overall adoption rate in the Western Cape to 31%.

If you want to see the WOOF Project in action, or are thinking of adopting a furbaby, head to Melrose Arch Square on Saturday between 9am and 6pm, and prepare to be overwhelmed by cuteness. For more information, visit Oscars Arc’s website or their Facebook page.

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