Jets’ Solomon Thomas Tackles Dog Chaining in New PETA PSA

For Immediate Release:
February 13, 2024

Contact:
Moira Colley 202-483-7382

As much of the region is experiencing blizzard conditions, Jets defensive tackle Solomon Thomas—who’s usually on the field rushing QBs—is bringing the pressure for PETA in a new video urging people to keep dogs indoors, where they’re safe and warm, and never isolated on a chain or in a pen outside. Proving that his compassion extends to all species, the Heisman Humanitarian Award winner stars in the video alongside a new teammate—a pup named Freddy::

“Imagine looking into your house and seeing your family warm, laughing, and enjoying each other’s company,” Thomas says. “You’re alone outside, stuck on the end of a chain, and unable to escape the cold and loneliness.”

Every single day, PETA’s field team finds dogs confined to pens and/or tethered by heavy chains around their necks. Many are deprived of basic necessities like food, water, shelter, and veterinary care—not to mention affection, respect, or the opportunity to run and play. It’s not uncommon for fieldworkers to find sick, injured, and even dying dogs who haven’t been checked on by their owners for days. In recent weeks, the team found three dogs who had perished—all still attached to chains outside—while their owners were unaware that the dogs, who were confined 24/7 and isolated outdoors, died alone and in pain.

“They just want to be with you,” Thomas says in conclusion. “Walks, play time, a safe place to call home, family. Please, don’t chain your dog.”

PETA urges everyone to alert law-enforcement agencies to any dog kept chained or penned outside 24/7 without adequate shelter and to push for dog-chaining bans in their communities. In its field service area of southeastern Virginia and northeastern North Carolina, PETA builds sturdy doghouses for dogs in need, free of charge, and delivers them stuffed with insulating straw bedding.

PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to abuse in any way”—opposes speciesism, a human-supremacist worldview. For more information on PETA’s investigative newsgathering and reporting, please visit PETA.org, listen to The PETA Podcast, or follow the group on X (formerly Twitter), Facebook, or Instagram.