Last autumn, Shinia Kildall and Benjamin Martin, students at Pacific University, transformed a media arts assignment into a tribute to the Oregon Friends of Shelter Animals (OFOSA).
This non-profit organization in Oregon has been grappling with a surge in abandoned pets and sizable colonies of homeless cats. OFOSA is actively seeking foster families to care for the numerous rescue animals they are currently taking in.
According to OFOSA’s Anne Haynes, there aren’t many requirements to be an animal foster parent in their film. “Click on our website, read all of the qualifications, just have a loving home, basically. We give you everything you need.”
Kildall claimed that prior to starting work on the movie, she was unaware of the non-profit. She remarked, “Everyone who works there is really passionate. Once we got into it, it’s such a small passionate community.”
The fact that “they have over 300 foster families” was the biggest surprise, according to Martin.
For their film, they spoke with a few of the foster families—among them, one had fostered 143 animals. “We get to take care of them during the cutest part of their lives and then find them homes that are great fits,” stated a foster parent.
OFOSA is grateful for the unanticipated attention, particularly because adoptions have declined since the pandemic. Their intake of abandoned cats keeps increasing.
Film and media arts have become interests for both Martin and Kildall. They also intend to foster rescued animals in the future.
Additionally, their film raised their GPA.
“We got an ‘A,’ I think,” Martin stated. “We were both super proud of it. We had a lot of fun doing it.”
