INDIANAPOLIS — Overlooked shelter dogs at IndyHumane are getting a possible second chance at new homes thanks to the creative antics of one employee, whose unique version of a temperament test has captivated animal lovers across social media.
Shelter employee Cameron Shoppach, also called the "Dangler in Chief," is helping draw attention to the sweetness of larger dogs or bully breeds who may have trouble snagging an adopter with his so-called dangle test, a temperament test that’s officially used on cats that Shoppach uses to show off the dog’s personalities on his @does.it.dangle TikTok and Instagram accounts.
“These dogs are overlooked,” Shoppach said. “I started it because it made people smile, and then I realized that it is potentially a tool and a resource that could save lives.”
The dangle videos start with a simple premise: does a certain dog dangle? Shoppach can then be seen bear-hugging the dogs by the chest and raising them in the air, paws and all. Some dogs dangle fine, others are a bit more energetic and hop around.
More so than any genuine temperament test, Shoppach told 13News he hoped the videos would give the dogs a chance to let their real personalities shine, outside the stress of a kennel environment. His accounts have so far gained more than 13,100 followers on TikTok and 49,600 on Instagram.
“I know they look bad in the kennel. Their kennel presence is terrible. They’re barking, they’re scared, they’re reactive. But if you just give them a chance outside of it, look at this personality and this connection,” Shoppach said.
Shoppach’s experience in the animal welfare space began years ago after he experienced burnout from his job as an exercise physiologist during the COVID-19 pandemic. He quit and began working with an organization called Dogs Playing for Life, a nonprofit that hosts playgroups and seminars for shelter dogs.
“That’s really my number one passion, is doing playgroups with dogs, which is, essentially, you get as many dogs as you can out of their kennels at a time and let them literally just play with each other,” Shoppach said.
Group exercise can help shelter dogs cope with the stress of being locked up, and Shoppach said just 15 minutes of group play can yield the same benefits as a two-hour walk. Before long, Shoppach was working at the Dogs Playing for Life facility in Florida, which offers a last-chance space for behavior dogs on euthanasia lists.
“I started, essentially, my dog career at the hardest place, probably, that you could learn behaviors in dogs and things like that,” Shoppach said.
But Shoppach and his wife, veterinarian specialist Dr. Melissa Stansell, moved to Indianapolis soon after and got jobs with IndyHumane. That’s when Shoppach swapped out dogs for cats in dangle tests as a joke.
“They’ll pick the cat up and swing it around to see if they can handle invasive handlings, how they feel about it. Usually, it’s alright. It doesn’t mean it’s a good or bad animal or pet. It just means handling them isn’t going to be great for it. That’s why the dangle test for dogs is really goofy and silly," Shoppach said.
His videos fast took off, with thousands of people checking to see if the pups at IndyHumane passed the dangle test.
However, Shoppach strongly cautions people to not do the dangle test on dogs if they are not experienced with animals — and even put "I do not recommend trying this" in his TikTok bio. Shoppach said the videos do give people outside the shelter a glimpse into how a dog plays or interacts with people.
“It takes a very, very resilient animal to be able to live in cinder blocks of metal for as long as some of these dogs do and still come out tails wagging, give kisses. Shelters are very hard,” Shoppach said.
While designer-breed dogs are frequently surrendered at IndyHumane, Shoppach tends to feature the so-called “bully breeds” in his videos, like pit bulls or shepherds, because he said those dogs are looked over more. In his experience, the designer dogs get adopted first.
“We have hundreds of really amazing animals that get stuck in the shelter just because of the way they look: a scar here, a pit bull face. So, being able to pick them up and show that they’re goofy and love people and give kisses and stuff when most folks walk past them, the opportunity to show them off that I’m really excited to have,” Shoppach said.
Glimpse the full list of adoptable animals at IndyHumane here.