Putting a positive twist on “most wanted” posters, the Potter League for Animals plasters local bus stop shelters in Newport and Middletown, Rhode Island, with the faces of lovable animals. Since February, furry mugshots have greeted passengers and passersby, five of them featuring a photo of an adult cat and the phrase “Friends Fur Life.” The rest show an adult dog with her tongue sticking out and the phrase, “Sometimes you don’t know love till it licks you in the face.” Both sets of posters include the Potter League’s Web address and location and display the message, “Be Kind to Animals, Spay and Neuter.”

“We did not use a puppy or a kitten [photo] because we wanted to push the adult animals, and we did not use a purebred dog because we want to push mixed breeds,” says Pat Heller, the shelter’s director of community outreach.

The Potter League paid $1,100 in printing, but the agency that sells the advertising spots at the bus shelters is not charging for the space. When there are spaces available and the agency has no other advertisements to display, the Potter League’s animals get top billing.