Kid Ink Stars In PETA’s Hot New Summer Campaign: Keep Your Dogs Indoors!

As Dogs Die in Backyards Across the Country, ‘Be Real’ MC Points to the Deadly Dangers of Chaining Dogs Outdoors

For Immediate Release:
August 4, 2015

Contact:
Moira Colley 202-483-7382

Kid Ink would never leave his dogs, Louie and Roxie, chained up outside—and that’s why the hip-hop artist has teamed up with PETA for a new ad campaign that proclaims, “Chain Your Dogs? Not Cool!” The ad (available here) encourages, “Treat your dogs like family. Let them live inside.”

In an exclusive PETA interview, the “Ride Out” performer shares why treating dogs like family is so important. “They’re very emotional, and they’re very smart,” he says. “You learn the importance of not chaining your dogs outside …. Of course, the animals can’t tell you, you know, ‘I’m hot. I’m cold.’”

This summer alone, PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to abuse in any way”—has received reports of numerous heat-related deaths. A dog in North Carolina was found dead inside a crate after he had been left out in direct sunlight without water. A chained dog in Georgia was found dead after a spate of 100-degree days. And a dog who was chained up in Tennessee with no shelter also died—his body temperature was measured at 131 degrees. These are just a few of this year’s deaths—and many, many more go unreported.

In addition to enduring all weather extremes—including torrential downpours, sweltering heat, and frigid cold temperatures—chained dogs are often denied adequate food, water, and veterinary care. Being chained also makes them fearful and aggressive.

Kid Ink is part of a growing list of musicians, athletes, and other celebrities—including Waka Flocka Flame, Tyrann Mathieu, Rocsi Diaz, Jhené Aiko, Kesha, and Jay Sean, among many others—who’ve teamed up with PETA to help animals.

Broadcast-quality footage is available upon request. For more information, please visit PETA.org.