WRPS uses April Fool's Day to raise awareness about animal adoption
- Lee Griffi
- 1 day ago
- 3 min read
By Lee Griffi, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
“The Waterloo Region Police Service (WRPS) is rebranding the K-9 Unit to the Animal Support Unit (ASU) and adding new members. Working alongside our officers, each new Animal Support Unit member brings unique skills to our frontline.”
That is a portion of the script from a social-media video released on April Fool’s Day by the police force to not only draw some laughs, but also bring attention to the need to find good homes for animals currently up for adoption.
Cherri Greeno leads the corporate affairs department at WRPS and said coming up with engaging social-media posts is part of the organization’s communications strategy.
“As a police service, we are always looking for opportunities to connect and engage in a fun way with the community. We do quite a few videos every year like at Christmas, and April Fool’s is always a great time to have some fun.”
She added the communications team threw around some ideas on what they could do for April 1 and decided to connect with the Humane Society of Kitchener-Waterloo and Stratford-Perth.
“We asked them if they would like to partner with us and the idea just came from there. What I love most about this is it’s a fun, uplifting video with a serious message. A lot of the animals at the Humane Society need good homes and we were happy to put that message out to the public.”
Greeno couldn’t take credit for the video itself as it was shot and edited by Mark Araujo, a talented videographer on the WRPS team.
“A lot of it was done using a green screen that was put up at the Humane Society. They let us use some of their animals, some of which were owned by the staff, including Garrett the ferret, who has a tragic story.
“He was hit by a vehicle and lost an eye but was taken to the Humane Society and quickly adopted by a staffer. He’s very happy and loved now, and was the star of our video.”
Greeno assured the Gazette the dog in a motorcycle sidecar pictured in the video was added using the green screen. The same goes for Garrett, seen being lowered on a rope to help solve a crime in addition to a turtle and snake, each a part of the new ASU.
Greeno said in addition to building a rapport with the community, the force is hoping to get more young people interested in a policing career.
“The data behind these videos shows a lot of our new recruits are attracted to our service through our social media. They view them and then go to our website if they are interested in policing, and we see our numbers rising.”
Despite the far-fetched nature of the video, Greeno said many who watched fell for the premise at first.
“It’s quite funny. We have been getting a lot of messages sent to us. I think when we wake up, we forget it's April Fool’s. People saw the video and had to think for a minute to figure out it wasn’t real. It’s getting a lot of laughs.”
The best part of the video may have been when an officer barged into a classroom where several young members of the force were seated.
“Hey! Has anyone seen David Hisselhoff? Eh, Lost him again!”
The officer was referring to the newly badged snake on the ASU as the other police services members jumped on their chairs. The video eventually cleared the air, ending the April Fool’s Day gaff.
“This video may be fake, but the animals in it are real and need a loving home. Visit kwsphumane.ca to learn about adopting today.”
To view the video, visit any Waterloo Region Police Service social media page.
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