Fargo Brewing Company's New Beer Cans Feature Adoptable Shelter Dogs

There are worse ways to sell a product than by slapping cute pet pictures on the packaging. At first glance, it may seem like that was the strategy behind Fargo Brewing Company's new beer cans, which feature real dogs on the labels. But the pictures are meant to do more than move beer off the shelf. Each can showcases a real shelter dog that's up for adoption, and by sharing their photographs, the North Dakota beer company hopes to help these puppers find their forever families, WTSP reports.

Jerad Ryan, a volunteer at the nonprofit 4 Luv of Dog Rescue, got the idea while working his day job at Northern Plains Label. Part of the company's business comes from printing labels for local breweries. Instead of just sticking their own logo on the can, Ryan wondered if breweries would be open to sharing that real estate with shelter dogs in need of homes.

4 Luv of Dog Rescue has since partnered with Fargo Brewing Company to make that plan a reality. Six rescue dogs—Nyx, Bizzy, Jensen, Hobie, Moby, and Virginia—have been chosen to have their faces featured on select cans of Fargo Original Lager. Each dog is what the shelter calls a "One-der" dog, or a pup that can only be placed in homes with no other pets. This makes them more difficult to adopt, which is why 4 Luv of Dog Rescue felt they would make perfect candidates for the project.

Fargo produced 40 cases of the special beer cans, 25 of which were sold at a special launch event on November 4. The remaining cans will be available for local buyers to purchase through the end of the week, with a portion of the proceeds going to 4 Luv of Dog Rescue.