Show Your Soft Side

Show Your Soft Side is a public service campaign that was created to change the mindset of young people who all too often view the maiming and torturing of defenseless dogs and cats as a sign of "toughness" or "manhood." Our campaign works with celebrities across the United States, including professional athletes, actors, and musicians, to show that compassion toward animals is a strength. Our ultimate goal is to stop animal cruelty before it starts. It is an ambitious goal, born of outrage. In 2009, a dog named Phoenix was soaked in gasoline and set on fire on the streets of Baltimore, and tragically, she was not the only animal that was tortured on our city streets. A nursing cat was restrained and set on fire, several animals were stoned, and a puppy was beaten to death with belts and a tree branch on a public golf course. Shockingly, these horrific crimes were all perpetrated by groups of boys, some as young as 10-years old. It almost appeared as if these boys viewed animal cruelty as a "right of passage" for proving their manhood. Started as a small poster campaign for Baltimore City schools, the campaign's initial images crossed the globe overnight. Show Your Soft Side was incorporated into a 501(c)(3) nonprofit in 2013 and ships posters free-of-charge to teachers and humane educators worldwide. The Institute of Human-Animal Connection has crafted lesson plans specifically for use with the campaign, which are also available. Show Your Soft Side also sponsors several programs to help sick, injured and abused animals in the Baltimore area.