“Voices for Pets” is a new East Lake Pet Orphanage project designed to help bring awareness to homeless pets that have been looking for homes longer than most. These pets have difficult histories and often require special attention and understanding to help ease them into loving forever homes.
Written by voice actors with the help of East Lake Pet Orphanage team members and volunteers, Voices for Pets scripts communicate the special needs these pets may have. Once recorded, these voice-overs are combined with slow-motion video of the voice actors themselves holding and interacting with the very pets they voiced.
The final videos will be released on a range of social media channels. Our hope is that each video introduction will help these special animals find patient and understanding homes. “Working with this team of voice actors has added a new dimension to the rescue work we do,” said Dr. Karen Fling, president of East Lake Pet Orphanage. “The ‘voices’ of the pets really do seem like what the pets would say if they could talk.” “Also, this project shows that there are creative ways everyone, even actors, videographers, and sound engineers can be a part of helping homeless pets!”
In 2018, East Lake Pet Orphanage successfully re-homed more than 600 abandoned and neglected pets. (As a non-profit, no-kill shelter, East Lake Pet Orphanage even takes in expecting pet mothers that would otherwise be euthanized at other local shelters.) Unfortunately, some of the pets we shelter are overlooked for one reason or another and spend a long time waiting for homes. With the help of projects like Voices for Pets, we share their stories in the hope of finding the right home for each animal. As Dr. Karen Fling, the visionary behind East Lake Veterinary Hospital, says, “There’s a right home for every pet, no matter how long it takes to find.”
Local sound engineer Christopher Lee Johnson produced Voices for Pets. He worked with 11 DFW-area voice actors who donated their time and talents to help give homeless pets a voice and a second chance.
The voice recordings were done on Saturday, March 2nd, 2019, in the sound studio of Squash Blossom Studios. The actors moved from there to the video location at East Lake Pet Orphanage, where they were filmed interacting with the pets they had voiced.
Voice actors:
- L. A. "Smitty" Smith as Ginger (dog)
- Ben Balmaceda as Bronx (dog)
- Brandon Solis as Tabasco (cat)
- Katarina Mahan as Flower and Sookie (cats)
- Katy Garrison as Miss Jenkins (kitten)
- Spencer Liles as Chili (cat)
- Hallie Davidson as Bonnie and Godiva (cats)
- Jo Lorio as Beauty (cat)
- Melissa Torres as Lola (cat)
- Zareen Afzaal as Emerald and Storm (cats)
- Jacob Clinton as Jager (dog)
Videos directed by Roderick Peña
Watch the first video above here and check back often to see more: http://eastlakedallas.com/elpo/voices-for-pets/
For more information on East Lake Pet Orphanage visit http://www.elpo.org
