PuppySwap – The Puppy Subscription Service

This clever video is a great example of "selling the problem" -- and it's horrifying.  People are abandoning dogs as puppies outgrow their cute stage and become a nuisance... so let's create "PuppySwap".  The viewer is left to wonder where is the man taking the older dog?  What's going to happen to the dog?



This could lead to some great critical thinking.  Possible prompts:

1. At some point did you start to doubt the authenticity of the ad?

2. Why do we consider the idea for this service to be morally unacceptable? Do dogs have rights?

3. How big a problem is pet abandonment? How could we find accurate information about this issue?



It might be mean, but I'd be inclined to pause the video just before the title comes up at the end and ask the students to react and comment prior to revealing the true purpose of the ad.