Pet photographer Adam Goldberg is known for devising really fantastic new ways to make animal adoption more accessible, and more fun. (editor's note: since when isn't adopting animals fun?)
In 2015, when he worked at the Humane Society of Broward County in Ft. Lauderdale, Goldberg helped concoct the Snuggle Delivery program — through which, brilliantly, delightfully, for a modest donation, the shelter would bring puppies and kittens to area offices in order to be cuddled (and adopted).
Since moving to Tampa last December, Goldberg's raised more than $7,000 for shelters and rescues through benefit photo shoots — and he's continued to innovate.
One way is by convincing a bunch of apartment building managers to let him turn their bare-walled mailrooms into galleries that support local shelters and rescue groups. They're called Mailroom Galleries for Charity.
Goldberg's newest idea is Adoption Coasters. It is what it sounds like: coasters with pictures of animals who need homes, or who have been adopted, along with a link to a page on his website where you'll find information about shelters and pet adoption.
"This supports pet adoption by putting photos of animals in popular places throughout the community. Shelters can always use the help getting the word out," he says.
The idea came during a trip to Nashville, where Goldberg visited a coffee bar that used table pagers to raise money for a shelter. He doesn't see a lot of table pagers around here, "so I figured coasters would be the next best thing."
The Humane Society of Tampa Bay and the Hillsborough County Pet Resource Center will definitely be involved, since Goldberg now volunteers to take their adoption photos — he's open to hearing from other shelters and rescue groups that also want to be included.
Next step: Finding Tampa Bay bars and restaurants that'll place orders. Twenty, is his aim, to start. This idea is brand-new — Goldberg put up the page on his website about it on Wednesday — so he's still working out exact prices. The current estimate is that it'll cost somewhere around $100 to buy 250 coasters, with none of that money going to Goldberg.
"I would like to eventually make a profit, but as we get this off the ground, I don't expect to," he says.
So there you go. Fall in love (with shelter pets) over a drink or a meal.
This article appears in Nov 3-10, 2016.