Soothing serenade helps cats and dogs looking for homes in Williamson County

Shelley Mays | The Tennessean

Nashville musician Michael Smith slowly strummed his acoustic guitar to a furry and anxious audience inside the Williamson County Animal Center.

Within minutes, his calming tunes lulled most of his four-legged audience to sleep.

While performing live to homeless cats and dogs at the Franklin animal shelter, Smith watched the positive effect music can have on animals.

Musician serenades homeless Williamson cats and dogs Nashville musician Michael Smith gives live performances to homeless cats and dogs at the Williamson County Animal Center in Franklin to bring comfort and awareness to the dogs and cats at the center that need to be adopted.

"I just started strumming my guitar very softly," Smith said. "As I progressed into the song, you just saw a kitten just fall asleep. That's the power of music."

Smith –– who is a member of the Nashville band Backlit –– is a proud pet owner of several cats.

The idea to help calm cats and dogs was introduced by Williamson County Animal Center public outreach assistant Penny Adams.

“I’m really delighted that Michael can come and share his talents with our animals and help them find homes," Adams said. She was inspired by another animal shelter in North Carolina where an animal control officer played his guitar for animals.

"I saw a viral video and thought, 'We are in Nashville. We are supposed to be Music City capital for kitty viral videos.' So I contacted the most cat loving musician I know."

Smith has serenaded animals at the Franklin shelter twice this summer, but Adams' outreach could lead to more musicians performing live for adoptable animals in the future.

"I love music so much," Smith said. "Just seeing different reactions to music is cool to me. That's what music is supposed to do."

About the Williamson County Animal Center

The Williamson County Animal Center is located at 106 Claude Yates Drive in Franklin. Adoptable animals can also be viewed at adoptwcac.org. For more information, call (615) 790-5590, visit www.adoptwcac.org or like Williamson County Animal Center on Facebook.

Reach Shelley Mays at smays@tennessean.com or follow her on Twitter at TNPhotoShelleyM.