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Amy Poehler’s ‘Heavy Petting’: Tinder For Pets

By Stacey Cole
Published on: 20:28 PST, Jan 27, 2016

Amy Poehler is one of the funniest women on this planet. And because she is at the top of her field, she has some great connections and her own squad (sorry Taylor Swift). One very prominent member of Amy Poehler’s girl squad is Rashida Jones.

The two starred in Parks and Recreation together, and they have been friends for many years. Recently, In Style spoke with Jones, and she revealed that for her, Amy Poehler is chosen family, someone she can turn to when she feels insecure.

“[I’m] surrounding myself with good friends. I work in a competitive business where money is the main driver for many people, so rather than getting caught up in that, I try to connect with individuals who share my values. Amy Poehler and I have been friends longer than we’ve been working together, and we always say we’re ‘chosen family.’ We have our own language, which makes it easy to catch up; even when we’re super-busy, we can get up to speed in about four text messages.”

Amy Poehler is most certainly all about supporting her friends and girl power, which is why she teamed up with Meredith Walker to start Smart Girls, an organization that works to help youth “cultivate their authentic selves.” And Smart Girls is doing some pretty amazing things.

Mashable reports that Smart Girls is teaming up with The Sims 4 to create a video game that will hopefully inspire young girls and women to consider a career in technology. Maggie Lyons, Director of Development for Smart Girls, explains.

“It’s all about making young women aware of different kinds of careers and making female role models in those fields visible to them. That’s why it was so important to us to pair our three girls with female game producers at EA. If they can’t see people like themselves doing something, it’s harder for them to envision themselves doing it. The game helps them learn how to navigate their worlds, face challenges, express themselves, and build their own story. They can explore their interests, see where those interests can take them, and discover new possibilities.”

Amy Poehler’s Smart Girls and The Sims 4 have also created a video series that shows real girls talking about their own experiences with the game and how it has inspired them.

If that isn’t inspirational enough, Ecorazzi reports that Amy Poehler’s Smart Girls is also teaming up with ASPCA for a new web series that has been named Heavy Petting. The goal of the web series is to put the focus on pet adoption with the help of celebrities. It has been described as “Tinder for adoptable pets.” A different dog adoption happens each week, and the dogs like to speak to their audience. John Mulaney does the voice of Bart.

“I love meeting new people and smelling their breath. I’ve gotten really into Cheerios lately, especially when they’re spilled on the kitchen floor — preferably when they’re spilled on the kitchen floor.”

Then there is Buddy, voiced by Aziz Ansari.

“I’m full of energy, full of attitude. Look out — I’m from New York City. Something you should know about me: I love jokes, I love a good time. And I love a good meal. People say I’m a tough guy, but the truth is I am just a Maltese trying to make it in the big city.”

Aside from all her charitable work, Amy Poehler is being kept very busy with her comedic work. Deadline reports that NBC has just ordered a comedy pilot for a show that does not yet have a name, which is written by Charlie Grundy and produced by Amy Poehler.

[Photo by Bryan Bedder / Getty Images]

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