Cold Dog Ad Blitz Hits Local Mall After Dogs’ Deaths in Columbus

PETA Ads Urge Columbus Shoppers Not to Chain Up Animals Outdoors

For Immediate Release:
March 13, 2019

Contact:
Megan Wiltsie 202-483-7382

As part of PETA’s nationwide campaign to encourage people not to leave animals outdoors in cold weather—and because Indiana animal control agencies have recently reported that several dogs suffered from frostbite and that some even died after being left outdoors in freezing temperatures—the group has hit Columbus’ Fair Oaks Mall with anti-chaining ads featuring rap icon Eve.

Recently reported incidents in Indianapolis include one in which an emaciated, dehydrated dog was found dead in an empty garage and another in which a dog froze to death after being left in a wooden doghouse overnight. In South Bend, 11 dogs—some of whom suffered from frostbite—who’d been left outdoors in dangerously cold weather were seized, and last year in Marion, a dog was found frozen to death in a crate.

“The number of animals who freeze to death each winter on a chain or in a barren doghouse is tragic, and these deaths are utterly preventable,” says PETA Vice President Colleen O’Brien. “PETA’s ads urge people to bring dogs indoors, where they’re safe and warm, and not to abandon them outdoors to fend for themselves through Columbus’ bitter winters.”

PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to abuse in any way”—opposes speciesism, which is a supremacist worldview. Animals left outdoors in the cold can suffer from frostbite and exposure, become dehydrated when water sources ice over, and die. Already this winter, there have been at least 27 cold weather–related companion animal deaths (last year, there were 50)—and these are just the ones that have been reported. Most aren’t. Anyone who sees animals left outside without shelter from the elements should note their location and alert authorities immediately.

PETA previously erected billboards following the deaths of dogs in Illinois, Maryland, Missouri, and Ohio. The group’s other efforts to protect dogs from cold weather include more celebrity campaigns, radio PSAs, and pushing for anti-chaining legislation across the country.

For more information, please visit PETA.org.