How Long Will Denver Broncos’ Chris Harris Jr. Last in Freezing Temps?

As a professional football player for one of the NFL’s coldest cities’ teams, Denver Broncos Chris Harris Jr. knows frigid weather yet was up for the challenge of spending time outside during a cold winter’s night to raise awareness of the plight of “outdoor dogs.”

While Chris has the benefit of being able to spend the winter season indoors, dogs left outside without protection from the elements suffer horribly during winter months. Dogs who spend their lives outdoors on a chain or in a pen without adequate shelter are often ignored or forgotten altogether. If it’s too cold for you, it’s too cold for them.

Many dogs are considered beloved members of the family and do have warm, loving homes, but others are far less fortunate. Dogs chained or penned in the backyard are often left “out of sight, out of mind” and deprived of adequate food, water, and veterinary care. Many are denied proper shelter (if they have any at all)—and often have nothing more than an overturned trash bin or a plastic barrel to protect them from the elements. On freezing winter nights, they shiver violently and curl up into a tight ball to try to ward off the cold. Dogs are not trash. All dogs are emotional beings capable of loneliness, pain, and frustration. They are referred to as “man’s best friend” for a reason—they crave human companionship and deserve a loving human family.

Providing “backyard dogs”—who are struggling to survive long days and nights outside in the snow and cold rain this winter—with a warm doghouse can shelter them from snow, wind, and rain for years to come.

• Donate to PETA’s doghouse project and give a lonely “backyard dog” a doghouse today.
• Help PETA volunteers give toys and treats to dogs who would otherwise be neglected and ignored.
• Share Chris Harris Jr.’s video on Twitter and Facebook.