Deaths of 10 Puppies in Hot Car Prompt ‘Don’t Leave Them’ Message From Danai Gurira and PETA

Contact:
Moira Colley 202-483-7382

Following reports that a woman has been charged after leaving crates of puppies in her car overnight—resulting in the deaths of 10 dogs out of the 13 inside from heatstroke—PETA plans to place a billboard in the area showing Danai Gurira, star of Black Panther and The Walking Dead, and her beloved dog, Papi, urging everyone never to leave dogs alone in parked cars, where temperatures can rise dangerously high in minutes. The appeal seeks to memorialize the puppies—whom the woman was reportedly planning to sell—and prevent another similar tragedy from occurring.

“I would never risk Papi’s life by leaving him alone in a car. He’s family. If he were in trouble, I would do anything to save him,” says Gurira. “My friends at PETA and I are urging everyone to be a warrior for animals. If you see a dog alone in a parked car, do whatever it takes to save them.”

Last year in the U.S., 163 dogs and cats died from heat-related causes, including at least 69 inside vehicles. (The actual numbers are likely far higher, as most deaths go unreported.) On a 70-degree day, the temperature inside a parked car can soar to 99 degrees in 20 minutes. On a 90-degree day, the interior temperature can reach as high as 109 degrees in just 10 minutes.

Anyone who sees a dog or a child alone in a parked car should never leave the scene and should take immediate action. Call 911. Then write down the vehicle’s make, model, color, and license plate number and rush to have nearby stores page the owner. If authorities are unresponsive or too slow and the dog’s life appears to be in imminent danger, find a witness and take the necessary steps to remove them from the car, including by employing PETA’s emergency window-breaking hammer, available for proactive purchase here.

PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to abuse in any way”—notes that breeding “purebred” puppies contributes to the companion animal overpopulation crisis, in which around 70 million cats and dogs are homeless in the U.S. at any given time. The group urges everyone never to buy animals and to always adopt them instead, make sure they’re spayed or neutered, and give them plenty of exercise, enrichment, and affection.

PETA points out that Every Animal Is Someone and offers free Empathy Kits for people who need a lesson in kindness. For more information, please visit PETA.org or follow the group on X, Facebook, or Instagram.