June 21, 2016
Last month, we debuted a powerful new video featuring actor Justin Long, who supplied the voice for Charlie, a neglected “backyard dog” who spends his entire existence—day in and day out—confined to a tiny, muddy yard, yearning for the attention of a loving family, which every dog deserves. The response to the video has been overwhelming. Already more than 2 million people have viewed it on Facebook, and thousands have pledged through our website to be there for dogs like Charlie. If you haven’t watched this important new video, please do so right now and share it with your family and friends before rising summer temperatures put chained “outdoor dogs” at risk in their neighborhoods.
Charlie’s story is far more common that many of us might think. Each month, PETA fieldworkers come to the aid of dozens of desperate dogs like him, making sure that they have the food, fresh water, and shelter that they so desperately need and are denied. When we find a neglected dog like Charlie, we don’t give up, even when local laws (which we strive to change) permit what most kind people consider unacceptable. In such circumstances, PETA doesn’t have the legal authority to remove the dog or even force the owner to improve the situation, nor can we pressure local authorities since the regulations are so weak. We counsel the guardians from the beginning not only on what is required (like shelter!) but also on what would make their dog happy (e.g., receiving attention, living indoors, going for walks, etc.) and healthy—for example, being spayed or neutered, receiving flea treatment, etc., which we often provide. It might take years of repeated visits by PETA’s fieldworkers before a dog’s guardian finally agrees to make the animal an “indoor dog.”
And our work does change the world for many animals! Last month, our team of animal-care experts responded to more than 1,365 calls and e-mails about animals in need and gave sturdy PETA-built doghouses to more than 120 dogs, including Big Mack.
When our fieldworkers met Big Mack, he was tied to a pole. His only shade from the summer sun was the top half of a worn plastic doghouse covered with a few flimsy tarps. Our team removed that abysmal excuse for a shelter and provided this sweet young pup with a free PETA doghouse and some of the affection that he had longed for, and we’ll be following up to make sure that he’s neutered at a PETA mobile clinic in the coming weeks as well.
Sheeba’s situation was no better. This young pit bull mix was kept on a heavy chain 24/7 with only a beat-up plastic barrel lying in a ditch to protect her from the blazing sun and intense summer thunderstorms. PETA fieldworkers replaced her chain with a new, lightweight tie-out and delivered a free doghouse to this sweet girl.
In addition to doghouses, last month our team helped more than 920 cats and dogs like King—a pit bull from rural Virginia—receive life-changing spay and neuter surgeries to keep them from contributing to the region’s homeless-animal problem. This beloved boy’s guardian was grateful that King received free transport to and from his appointment at a PETA mobile clinic. Without our help, she wouldn’t have been able to get her dog “fixed.”
According to Butterscotch’s owner, this friendly dog had already given birth to multiple litters before PETA fieldworkers first met her. Thankfully, he asked us to spay her—which we did free of charge—preventing more unwanted pit bulls from being born in the deeply impoverished region of North Carolina where she lived.
Finally this month, we have an update on Esmeralda, a sunset-hued bearded dragon who was rescued by PETA during our recent investigation of Reptiles by Mack—a seedy reptile breeder and dealer who supplies animals to PetSmart and other pet stores all over the country.
Esmeralda suffered from a spinal deformity that was likely a result of a metabolic bone disease, perhaps caused by inbreeding or a lack of adequate nutrition and/or lighting when she was a baby. Since the facility wouldn’t make a profit breeding or selling her, she was kept as a novelty item in a barren plastic tub where she lay motionless in a corner all day, staring at the wall—perhaps dreaming that she was far away in her species’ native Australian desert. After some four months of medical care and TLC at PETA’s shelter, Esmeralda is now thriving in a large, custom-built habitat with a kind woman whose heart broke when she read Esmeralda’s story on our website.
Your compassion and generosity and that of other PETA supporters are what allow our team to help hundreds of animals like Sheba, Butterscotch, and Esmeralda each month. Thank you!