It was just an ordinary Thursday at the Longview Animal Care and Adoption Center in Longview, Texas, but it’s one that somehow managed to launch them into the viral stratosphere online.
Shelter director Chris Kemper often takes pictures around the office to share on their Facebook page. On this day, Chris spotted vet tech Erin Dryden’s pet lamb acting goofy in the hallway. Since Erin adopted Ursula the lamb at birth, the pair share a close bond, and all of the other staff members love seeing the happy little lamb following Erin around during the workday.
As Chris walked out of his office, he saw Ursula skipping along behind lead animal care technician Nina Allen, who was on her way to the surgical suite. The sight of the skipping lamb brought a smile to Chris’ face, so he decided to share that happy visual with their fans online.
“She’s like a puppy, but she gets excited and she starts jumping,” Chris said. He started recording video of Nina and Ursula dancing together, then uploaded it to Facebook with a disco jingle and lyrics spoofing the Whitney Houston song, “I Wanna Dance With Somebody.”
“I wanna dance with somebody, some baa baa baa body who loves me!” The caption read. The video is done in slow motion so you really get a good look at the exuberant little lamb kicking up her heels. She gets some serious height in those joyful leaps!
It’s also hilarious watching Nina jumping gamely into the air as well, and you can tell the whole office is entertained by both their two and four-legged coworkers.
“Our thought was, ‘Let’s just post this. It will make some people laugh, and it keeps us in the Facebook cycle until the next morning,’” Chris explained. But the video did just a teensy bit better than that. By the time Chris logged in the next morning the video had already been viewed 2.8 million times on Facebook alone!
Before the day was out the shelter had been contacted by media outlets from all over the country, drawing even more clicks and “likes” to their shelter’s page.
Now, a couple years later, their video has been viewed over 8 million times on Facebook. At the time, Chris said they hoped the added traffic would result in added help for the animals they serve. “We want people in driving distance — Shreveport, Tyler, Dallas, wherever — we want them to think, ‘Wow, I’m going to drive to that facility because they care about what they’re doing.’ That’s what we hope the outcome is.”
Fingers crossed that Ursula and Nina’s adorable dancing really put this shelter front and center in people’s minds! They’re doing such important work that it’s nice to see them sharing the happiness that animals bring to people’s lives.
Watch Ursula doing her disco dance in the video below, and be sure to share to spread their message even further.
