SEATTLE — Cardin Kennedy always knew she wanted to be a doctor. She just preferred treating pets instead of people.
"I wanted a patient population that couldn't speak for themselves, and so I try to be an advocate for animals when I'm treating them and help those creatures that can't help themselves," said Dr. Kennedy.
Today Dr. Kennedy and others help care for countless animals that come through their doors at the Seattle Animal Shelter.
"Any animal that ends up as a stray or a surrender in the city of Seattle comes to us," said Dr. Kennedy. "Then we do our very best to get a positive outcome for that animal, so usually that involves spay, neuter, medical workup, if necessary, and adoption."
But adoption can take time - leading to overcrowded kennels and stressed-out dogs. To help them find a home faster, Dr. Kennedy decided to put down her scalpel and pick up her smartphone.
"I just thought, I'll just go downstairs and shoot a video about just showing our kennels," Dr. Kennedy said.
These are not your typical "pet of the week" clips. The videos she makes for the Seattle Animal Shelter's Instagram page are more like doggie dating profiles.
"What I'm trying to do is showcase the positive side of the dogs that are here in our care," Dr. Kennedy said. "I'll go out and usually walk them around a little bit, see what kind of energy they're giving. The trick is to have a lot of treats on me so that I can get them to look pretty in front of the camera. I usually just spend about half an hour taking little clips and then edit them together later."
So, how much experience did the doctor have creating content before this?
"Oh, none, absolutely none! I have a personal Instagram that I don't use, so I'm pretty new to it," Dr. Kennedy said.
Not only are the clips entertaining to watch, they've led to dozens of dogs getting adopted.
"I'll do a post and then people will say, 'Oh, I drove from Eastern Washington or we're coming from British Columbia to adopt this dog that I saw,'" said Dr. Kennedy. "There are so many amazing, wonderful pets that are ready to go home that we might not see their full personality if you just walk through our shelter or visit our website."
Dr. Kennedy has no desire to be a social media star. For her, the real reward is seeing these precious pooches find their forever home.
"It's making a huge difference. I feel absolutely wonderful about it. It's really nice," she said.