Teen Makes Documentary About Pet Adoption

Local girl scout Madison Shubert is a big supporter of pet adoption and wants more people to feel the same way.

The 17-year-old recently made a short documentary about how happy bringing a pet home has made some families as part of a project to earn the highest Girl Scouts of the USA honor, the Gold Award.

The main setting of Shubert's eight-minute film, One Paw at a Time, is the Friends for Pets Foundation, a non-profit shelter in Sun Valley that does not euthanize animals. The facility is staffed entirely by volunteers and funded through donations.

"[Pet] rescues cannot happen unless you have a core group of volunteers who want to make it happen," Shubert said as she talked about what she learned from the project.

For the film, Shubert volunteered for a few weeks at the shelter and interviewed its staff as well as families who adopted dogs and never looked back on their decision.

In addition to winning the Gold Award, the highest honor a girl scout can receive, she hopes her film could change how some people feel about animals that end up in shelters.

"I feel that people have kind of has a misconception about what an animal rescue really is," Shubert said. "They feel the dogs are put there because they're messed up, but they're not, they're normal dogs."

Shubert also said she's a supporter of no kill shelters, which don't euthanize dogs and cats after they've stayed at the location for a certain amount of time. Instead, they are cared for until they are adopted or are allowed to live out the rest of their days at the shelter.

"I don't feel that animals deserve to have their lives ended after a few weeks," she said. "Every animal deserves to live a good life and that's what Friends for Pets does."

Shubert does not plan on pursuing a career in cinema. Instead, she wants to follow her passion for animals and become a veterinarian.

She will begin her senior year at in the fall and has UC Davis as one of the colleges in her sight.

A girl scout since kindergarten, Shubert also plans on remaining active with the organization and by volunteering to help out incoming troops. She will present her film for Gold Award consideration in September.

Check out the accompanying YouTube link to watch Shubert's documentary One Paw at a Time.