Update: We're Moving!

As you can see, many people are already on board to make Mall Dogs happen. We've raised over $6800 but we simply need more time to raise the rest. So we're moving the project to www.dogparent.com to continue fundraising. 

If you've pledged here, your credit card will not be charged by Kickstarter since we haven't raised the target budget. But we hope you will come join us over at dogparent.com where you can make your pledge there! We won't collect any donations until we raise the full amount necessary to make the film.

We're working hard to make sure the Mall Dogs project is funded by the end of the year. Please come join us in telling the story of Mall Dogs! www.DogParent.com. See you there!

What We’re Doing

We’re making a documentary about “Lucky Paws”—a unique pet adoption center that’s located inside a mall in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Lucky Paws, an Albuquerque municipal shelter, has had a tremendous amount of success placing thousands of dogs and cats into permanent homes. Their remarkable approach to pet adoption starts with creating a positive retail environment that makes adopting a pet a pleasant experience.

Mall Dogs will be a feature-length documentary that incorporates cool animation and a killer soundtrack to tell the story of Lucky Paws from its dramatic beginnings to the psychology of its design to the reasons for its success. We’ll also follow stories of dogs and cats and the people who have connected with them at Lucky Paws.

More About the Film 

We’ve all seen documentaries and news stories about animal shelters. They tend to be very depressing. But Mall Dogs is different. We’ll be focusing on the positive results that Lucky Paws has achieved. It’s a happy story with lots of happy endings for thousands of dogs and cats. We’ll share the history of Lucky Paws, explore its distinctive “retail approach” through interviews with its founders as well as marketing and pet adoption experts, and also follow the stories of the families and pets who have made a connection through Lucky Paws. Animation and an awesome soundtrack will contribute to the film's style and appeal.

Meet the Team

We have an enthusiastic and experienced team ready to make this project a reality:

Jessi Badami is an actress, filmmaker, and animal advocate who has been helping animals for over 20 years. She will be writing and directing Mall Dogs. Jessi has worked on several acclaimed independent films and hundreds of commercials—from Nike to Microsoft to Macy’s. She lives in Albuquerque with three adopted dogs (yes, the three in the Mall Dogs poster).

Brent Peterson, Director of Photography has extensive experience and a killer eye for filming documentaries. His talent is only surpassed by his extraordinary personality, which puts documentary subjects at ease and allows us to work so effectively together in getting great dialogue from our subjects.

Lili Chin, Animator/Illustrator, Principle of FWAK! Animation is an award-winning illustrator and animator, and runs FWAK! Animation 
in Los Angeles. Her illustrations are fun, hip, and will provide the perfect complement to the tone and style of Mall Dogs.

Randy Nargi is an award winning Editor, Filmmaker, and Advertising expert. His work has been featured in film festivals around the world, and his commercials have won many accolades. As VP of Marketing for some of the most well-known online retailers, he has made tremendous contributions 
to their growth and success.

Bianca Schrader, Music Consultant is a high school student with an extraordinarily developed ear for music. With her finger on the pulse of what is happening in music 
in the teen world, her research and contribution to Mall Dog’s soundrack will be invaluable.

Use of Funds

100% of the funds from supporters will go directly into the production of the Mall Dogs project, including video production and post-production, and outreach. We’re grateful that our team is donating all or part of their time to make this happen, so we’re able to keep expenses low. If, through your generosity, we exceed out fundraising goal, we’ll put the additional funds into improving the production value of the documentary and pursuing more film festival screenings.

Rewards 

While your biggest reward is helping to make a wonderful film, support of the Mall Dogs project comes with a number of great perks, including digital downloads and DVDs of the documentary, a very cool soundtrack, custom pet portraits by a member of our team, and more.

Thank You 

Seriously—thank you for joining with us to make this happen. Please feel free to contact us at jessi(dot)badami(at)gmail(dot)com if you have any questions.