Christmas is, certainly, the time of the year when internet’s full of wholesome material. As holidays approach, people seem to feel the spirit of benevolence and sometimes go out of their way to help those in need or to simply give out little random acts of kindness. And while such gifts are most often shared between people, animals aren’t, thankfully, left behind.
Image credits: John Stessel
One magician, John Stessel, teamed up with director Rob Bliss and TBS to visit Town of Hempstead Animal Shelter in New York, where they added a little bit of magic to otherwise mundane life. Their idea of Christmas fun? A private magic show for the pups, full of treats and awe.
Stessel focuses on making magical, uplifting content and has been doing magic tricks for 16 years. “If I were to define my mission it would be to spread as much joy as humanly possible. Whether it be performing magic at my Residency at the Red Rabbit Club, on my live show with Bicycle Cards, or for adorable shelter dogs, my mission has always been to spread positivity in both real life and online” he told
Together with the director, they decided to film Stessel showing magic tricks to the shelter dogs and we’re more than glad they did, as the pups’ reactions are truly priceless. Some puppies were confused, others outright refused to deal with disappearing treats, and some even started dancing.
The best part of this whole campaign? Exposure! Stessel put the video together in hopes that the pooches shown in the footage would get adopted. As the message at the beginning of the video says, this was the perfect opportunity to show off that shelter dogs have wonderful personalities and are full of life.
“We wanted to create a special moment for animal shelter dogs to bring them the magic of the holidays, to show off their adorable personalities and hopefully help them find homes” Stessel explained.
“It is almost impossible to pick a favorite moment from the video! But some highlights for me were the truly unscripted moments! For example when Luna pulled off my hat, or when Teragon and I started dancing with him on his back!” John added.
Although John made treats disappear to see the pups’ reactions, the team states that after the filming was done the bamboozled dogs were showered with all the treats and pets a pooch can dream of. Hopefully, they will soon get an even greater treat – a loving family with a forever home.
As for people responding to the video? “The public has been nothing but supportive! While creating the video, every moment felt as if we were making something truly special and sure enough the public has felt that same feeling that we felt along the process!” the magician concluded.
