(25 Jun 2025)
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ASSOCIATED PRESS
Denver – 30 May 2025
1. Yuvi Agarwal playing his keyboard for dogs at the Denver Animal Shelter
2. SOUNDBITE (English) Yuvi Agarwal, Founder, Wild Tunes:
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“So basically, Wild Tunes is a non-profit I started with the goal to soothe and comfort shelter animals through live music. So we get volunteers to come and play an instrument or sing for them. And it helps calm them down and boost their overall mental health. It also helps them rebuild their bridges with humans.”
3. Close-up shot of Agarwal playing his keyboard
4. SOUNDBITE (English) Yuvi Agarwal, Founder, Wild Tunes:
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“A lot of them have come from very rough backgrounds with humans. We’ve seen a lot here that have been confiscated from their owners for abuse or neglect. So when they see a human, they’re like, ‘Oh, he’s going to do something bad to me.’ And then when the human is playing music for them, the dog will be like ‘Oh, humans are good.’ And also for most dogs, the music just helps, they just feel really calm. And that’s what I think goes through their minds.”
5. Various of shelter dogs listening to live music
6. Volunteer Sarah McDonner playing the flute for shelter animals
7. SOUNDBITE (English) Sarah McDonner, Wild Tunes volunteer:
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“So shelters can be very stressful environments. And so the animals having that human interaction in a positive way, I think, gives them something to look forward to, something that is different throughout their day. So I think it’s very important to give them something different than what they’re used to in their little tiny cages, which creates anxiety, and makes them more adoptable in the long run.”
8. Various of McDonner playing the flute and shelter animals listening to the music
9. SOUNDBITE (English) Yuvi Agarwal, Founder, Wild Tunes:
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“It’s like. You don’t have to understand the lyrics to enjoy the music. Just enjoy the melody, the harmony and the rhythms. So it transcends linguistic barriers, and even it can just transcend species."
10. Various of McDonner playing the flute and shelter animals listening to the music
STORYLINE:
It’s often said music is the universal language of humanity. Now a A 12-year-old Houston boy is putting that to the test among an unlikely audience — man’s best friend.
Yuvi Agarwal started playing keyboard when he was 4 and several years ago noticed his playing soothed his family’s restless golden doodle, Bozo. He grew curious if it also could help stressed homeless animals.
With help from his parents, who both have backgrounds in marketing, he founded the nonprofit Wild Tunes in 2023 to recruit musicians to play in animal shelters. So far he has enlisted about 100 volunteer musicians and singers of all ages and abilities to perform at nine shelters in Houston, New Jersey and Denver.
“You don’t have to understand the lyrics to enjoy the music. Just enjoy the melody, the harmony and the rhythms. So it transcends linguistic barriers, and even it can just transcend species,” Agarwal said recently after playing hits like The Beatles’ “Hey Jude” and Ed Sheeran’s “Perfect” on his portable keyboard at the Denver Animal Shelter.
Agarwal, who was playing for an elderly miniature poodle named Pituca — Spanish slang sometimes used to describe a snob — said many of his four-legged listeners, which include cats, become excited when he enters their kennel. But after a few minutes of playing, they calm down. Some even go to sleep.
AP Video by Thomas Peipert
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