Texas animal shelter wins Kesha's national 'Tails Out Tour' contest
AUSTIN (KXAN) -- A Central Texas animal shelter gets to plan a major adoption event where fees will be waived for new pet parents, at no cost to the shelter. That's thanks to pop-star Kesha. Yes, THAT Kesha.
PAWS Shelter of Central Texas spent weeks campaigning on social media for votes to win the Tails Out Tour Shelter Contest put on by Kesha and Spot Pet Insurance.
The Tails Out Tour was a fan-driven campaign dedicated to raising awareness and support for animal shelters across the country. It launched June 8 and ran for six weeks.
In total, the contest generated 7,800 votes and $8,000 in donations, plus it spread awareness for animal rescues, according to Spot.
PAWS was chosen as one of eight shelters nationwide to participate in the contest. As the contest winner, PAWS will get to host a pet adoption event sponsored by Spot, with all fees waived for pet adopters. Not to mention, a social media shoutout from Kesha.
Dianne Scott, Social Media Manager at Paws Shelter of Central Texas, said the adoption event will essentially be a huge party.
"There's going to be vendors and music and food at our animal shelter. They're sponsoring everything, including the adoption fees, and there's swag bags," Scott said.
PAWS has two shelter locations: one in Kyle and another in Dripping Springs. The Dripping Springs location will likely host the event at the end of August, but Scott said they're still in the planning process, so details haven't been worked out entirely yet.
One thing is for sure, though: pet adoption fees will be waived, and PAWS will not have to worry about the cost.
"We're a non-profit, no-kill, and we solely rely on grants and donations, and that's it. So we really, really rely on the help of the community," Scott said. "So, this was a great, great opportunity to share that and get people involved, and our community was so excited."
Scott said the support PAWS received became a "crazy, overwhelming community group effort." For weeks, Scott and staff members posted social media videos and skits to share their message and get people to vote. She said not only did they get support from the local community, but they also had people from all over Texas and even outside of the state spreading the word.
Each shelter also got a $1,000 donation from Spot just for participating, Scott said. She said the impact of that donation and being able to throw an adoption event without the shelter worrying about the cost is huge for PAWS.
"When we do events similar to this, we can't do it without sponsors. It costs a lot of money to put something like this on," Scott said. She added that she thinks people will be incentivized to go to the event simply to celebrate winning the contest, but they also get the added bonus of being able to find their new best furry friend for free.
Plus, it's cool that Kesha was involved, Scott said. "I'm a millennial, so I've loved [Kesha] for decades, but knowing that she did this for us... just knowing that Kesha was behind this, and just knowing that she has such a heart for animals, I don't know, it was just a really extraordinary experience."
“This campaign was about giving pet families across the country a way to uplift the shelters doing incredible work in their own communities,” said Trey Ferro, CEO of Spot Pet Insurance. “Paws Shelter of Central Texas is a shining example of what compassion, advocacy, and local leadership can accomplish.”