Skip Area 51: Raid this animal shelter for tin-foil hat wearing dogs
An Oklahoma shelter had an out-of-this-world idea to help find new Earth homes for orphan pets.
Pick up a cute pup from an animal shelter.
The Facebook group urging people to storm Area 51 and "see them aliens" has drawn lots of attention. (Bud Light is even offering the aliens free beer.)
But messing with the US Air Force's super-secret military facility could get you killed. So here's a friendlier option: An Oklahoma City animal shelter is encouraging Americans to "come storm our shelter" instead.
In a Facebook post put up Friday, OKC Animal Welfare in Oklahoma City wrote, "We have great animals ready to protect you from the Area 51 aliens," adding, "adoption isn't that far out of this world!"
But what really sells the shelter's post is that it includes photos of multiple adoptable dogs (and one cat) wearing the famed tin-foil hats associated with conspiracy theorists. The shelter has also decorated the animal photos with sparkling spacey sprinkles, and little cartoony aliens.
Come storm our shelter... We have great animals ready to protect you from the Area 51 aliens. Adoption isn’t that far out of this world! #stormtheshelter
Posted by OKC Animal Welfare on Friday, July 19, 2019
The photos include 3-year-old Piper, a snuggly pointer and boxer mix who looks quite proud of her spacey tin-foil antenna; 3-month-old Sam, a sad-looking lab mix; Lady, a 3-year-old lab and shepherd mix who makes her alien headwear look dignified; and an unnamed striped kitten who wore his tin-foil as a collar instead of an antenna hat.
"We are super-excited about the response and the exposure it has given our shelter pets!" a spokesperson told me. "This was an idea from our adoption coordinator and we never expected it to go so viral. The summer months are so tough for shelters all over the country and we are so happy to bring attention to this during this busy time."
Facebook users found the idea, like outer space itself, to be totally far out.
"Wonderful & creative pictures!" wrote Angela Merriman. "You all do a fantastic job in terrible circumstances."
And Adrian Stiegler wrote, "I wept a little inside seeing this post. What a beautiful suggestion. Dogs > Area 51 any day."
Update, 2:30 p.m. PT July 20: Added comments from shelter.
