How a ride-along became one county’s most engaging communications strategy.
Within the first hour of riding along with Hillsborough County animal control officers, Christian Lampe knew he couldn’t tell the story with a short video.
The officers were responding to difficult calls, explaining complicated decisions and showing a level of concern that didn’t fit the public image of animal control as little more than “dog catchers.” Lampe, a digital media producer for the Florida county that is home to Tampa, realized viewers needed time to understand both the work and the people doing it in order to change their perception.
“I knew that these are emotional stories that would take more than just a three-minute short to tell,” Lampe said.
The result was a 30-minute YouTube documentary series titled “Animal Control: Unleashed.” It follows officers through daily investigations, animal rescues and emotionally complex outcomes. The first episode premiered in January 2026, with new episodes quarterly, Lampe said.
The first two episodes have drawn roughly 40,000 combined YouTube views. Lampe said the second episode had triple the views of the first. The premiere also earned the highest average view duration on Hillsborough County’s YouTube channel at 8 minutes and 43 seconds.
The results challenged the assumption that audiences will only watch short videos, Lampe said. The series also won Ragan’s Content Marketing award in the Long Form Video category in June.
Beyond the metrics, the series illustrates several storytelling choices that other communications teams can adapt to their own work.
Replace explanations with experiences
The idea began during a planning meeting for a different project. Animal control officers started sharing stories about investigations, rescues and the relationships they’ve builtwith residents.
“Some are difficult to hear, but they’re very heroic,” Lampe said.
The conversations also exposed a persistent communications problem. Many residents primarily associated animal control with enforcement and removing pets.
“They’re not just dog catchers,” Lampe said. “They’re out there doing investigations. They’re out there doing animal rescues. Their big thing is they want the animals to be safe and happy with the people. They don’t just serve the animals. They serve the people as well.”
The department wanted residents to understand that reunification, rehabilitation and public safety guide its work. Instead of saying that in an explainer, the communications team chose to show the process.
The series uses patrol cameras, GoPros and body cameras to capture real-time calls, high-risk investigations and candid interviews with officers, giving the viewer a first-person perspective.
The first episode includes hoarding cases, abuse investigations and reunifications. Lampe also asked officers direct questions about ethical dilemmas, the emotional toll of their work and the steps that can lead to an animal returning home.
“I wanted to bring the human side of that and show people that (the officers are) people, and that they care, and that they’re out there wanting to help,” Lampe said.
When teams can show employees doing the work instead of relying on talking points to explain what the organization does, it will often have a greater, more meaningful impact, Lampe said.
Long-form gave viewers time to care
The format gave viewers time to form attachments to the officers and animals, Lampe said. It also allowed the county to show procedural nuance and the tension between empathy and enforcement.
“We’re not just telling the story of one event,” Lampe said. “I’m telling the story of an officer and what their day is like and some of the things they run into.”
Lampe produced, shot and edited the footage.
Because he entered the project without deep knowledge of animal control procedures, he approached interviews as a resident might.
“I try to approach it as a member of the public,” he said. “I don’t know anything about this, so tell me everything you can tell me about this.”
The first episode required about three days of ride-alongs, additional B-roll and roughly 16 hours of editing. Much of the footage was captured by Lampe alone, which helped document candid moments and sensitive investigations.
Lampe also embraced transparency over tight message control, editing as little as possible, he said. Viewers see officers making split-second decisions involving community safety and animal welfare rather than only seeing the outcomes or manufactured stories.
“I wanted the audience to build a relationship with the officers,” Lampe said. “At the end of the video, their wins are your wins.”
Teams should use a longer storytelling format when the audience needs time to understand the people, stakes and decisions behind the story. This builds an emotional connection, Lampe said.
Connecting audiences to the cause
The response to the series went beyond views.
Commenters called the officers “real heroes,” thanked the county for explaining the realities of animal welfare work and shared personal stories about rescued or reunited pets. Some viewers from other communities also said they wished their counties would produce similar programs, Lampe said.
The county also received requests for future episodes, invitations to appear on podcasts and local programs, and coverage from a local NPR affiliate. Lampe said he has heard that other counties are now considering their own versions.
The series has also influenced how Hillsborough County approaches other communications projects.
“Since then, we have focused a little bit more on finding individual stories in our bigger cases,” Lampe said.
Their strategy is to find a person whose experience can help the public understand a larger institution.
“You get the information more by being engaged in the story than just by reading or being told the information itself,” Lampe said.
Teams should measure success not only through views, but through whether audience responses reflect a clearer and more human understanding of the organization.
“The crux of marketing in general is connection and telling a story and making people feel something,” Lampe said.
Key takeaways for communicators:
- Identify a perception you want to change, then build a story that naturally challenges it.
- Individual employees often explain an organization’s mission better than facts or organizational charts.
- Show the work instead of describing it. Let audiences see decisions unfold in real time rather than relying on talking points.
- Choose a format that fits the story. Don’t default to short-form if the audience needs more time to understand the people and stakes.
- Measure understanding, not just reach. Watch time, comments and audience sentiment can reveal whether perceptions are actually changing.
- Â Ongoing storytelling creates more opportunities to educate the public and strengthen trust over time.
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