St. Hubert’s Animal Welfare Center has a unique way to help shelter dogs find forever homes. Professional magician John Stessel normally performs his act for fans and celebrities. He has found a whole new audience and the results of his performances there are enough to make anyone smile.
Stessel regularly performs at St. Hubert’s Animal Welfare Center in New Jersey. He performs for the dogs. Visitors to the shelter can watch as he works with the dogs and their reactions to the magic tricks help get them adopted. Stessel calls his ability to draw out the personalities of the shelter dogs and show them off to potential owners as a small superpower.
Dogs are smart. When Stessel makes treats and toys disappear as they watch, they are left flabbergasted. They are curious to find out how it happened. Their reactions vary. Some bounce around, some jump on Stessel, some try to sniff out the item that has gone missing.
“One of my small little superpowers is I can just help dogs show off in a way that they couldnt without me,” Stessel told Inside Edition. “Typically in the video the dogs just go nuts and they all have really different reactions.”
Here is the kicker – Stessel is highly allergic to dogs. He has to take 4-5 antihistamines before he works with the shelter dogs and then he usually has to take more during his time with them, as he begins to develop hives, a telltale sign of his allergic reactions. That’s a good-hearted man. He takes a risk with his personal health and physical comfort to help the dogs find forever homes.
His risks pay off. Most of the dogs in the video below have found their forever homes with loving families.
That’s a feel-good ending any day of the week. Wouldn’t it be great if more animal shelters thought outside the box to help shelter dogs (and cats) find permanent homes?
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