We’ve all been there. You and your bros are all gathered around in the living room, chugging right along through a Tiny House Hunters marathon, when you hear it, the unmistakable sound of Sarah McLachlan’s “Angel.” Sad puppy eyes stare directly into your very soul and you’re forced to excuse yourself because the room is suddenly full of dust-covered onions.

Well, it turns out you aren’t alone in totally not crying; even McLachlan herself can’t get through the famous PSA.

In an interview with Makers, McLachlan says the ASPCA commercial earned her an entirely new group of fans, with little old ladies at Target asking her if she’s “that dog lady” daily. She says that making the ads was “brutal” with the director asking her to be ever sadder about puppies that need saving. Finally, McLachlan reveals herself to be one of us.

“I can’t watch them, it kills me.”

Surprisingly, for a commercial that makes everyone change the channel, McLachlan says the ads have been very effective. Sad dogs, sad songs, and McLachlan’s own sad face have raised more than $30 million for the ASPCA.

“I said those words, the song went with the pictures, and it raised 30 million bucks. It really hit home in a profound way, and there were articles written about how we’d changed the face of fundraising.”

If even the spokeswoman for those sad pups can’t stomach the ads, the rest of us are fully justified in switching the channel when they come on.

(Via Makers)