Ad Blitz Urges: Don’t Leave Dogs out in the Cold!
For Immediate Release:
December 15, 2020
Contact:
Nicole Meyer 202-483-7382
With Connecticut under a winter storm watch in advance of the first expected snowstorm of the season, PETA is alerting dog guardians to the dangers of leaving dogs outside with ads now running on buses in New Haven and Hartford and an unmissable billboard in West Haven.
“Dogs are flesh and blood, not picnic tables, so if left outside in freezing temperatures, they’ll freeze, too—sometimes to death!” says PETA Senior Vice President Daphna Nachminovitch. “Animals depend on us for everything from food, water, and shelter to safety, warmth, and happiness—and that means keeping them indoors with the rest of the family.”
Animals who are left outdoors in the cold can suffer from frostbite and exposure, become dehydrated when water sources ice over, and die. Last winter, there were at least 37 cold weather–related companion animal deaths—and these are just the ones that were reported. Most aren’t. When kept tethered, dogs often become tangled and die when they’re unable to reach food, water, or shelter—and all dogs kept isolated outdoors—on chains or in pens—are denied the companionship that’s essential to these highly social pack animals.
It is illegal to leave a dog tethered outside during severe weather, including extreme cold, in the state of Connecticut. PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to abuse in any way”—urges anyone who sees neglect to report it to local authorities. Witnesses should take pictures from public property and note how long an animal is left without adequate food, water, or shelter.
PETA’s West Haven billboard is located on I-95 S. facing north near Exit 43.
PETA opposes speciesism, a human-supremacist worldview. For more information, please visit PETA.org or follow the group on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram.
