PETA’s Plea to Community: Help Dogs by Donating Unwanted Plastic Doghouses

Frigid Temperatures Mean Dogs Can’t Wait—Plastic Doghouses Desperately Needed as Temporary Shelters for Neglected ‘Outdoor Dogs’

For Immediate Release:
November 27, 2013

Contact:
David Perle 202-483-7382

As temperatures plummet, PETA’s field team is working around the clock to rush sturdy wooden doghouses to dogs left outdoors in Virginia and North Carolina. But building and delivering these houses to dogs found in the field can take up to 48 hours in some cases—and in the meantime, the animals need immediate protection from the winter cold, sleet, wind, and rain. That’s why PETA is asking the community to donate unwanted plastic doghouses for the group to use as temporary shelters until the new doghouses, which are custom-built, are ready.

PETA is also accepting donations of dog toys, food, and water buckets at its headquarters at 501 Front St. in Norfolk, where the organization keeps free straw to use as doghouse bedding and insulation for “outdoor dogs.” People are also welcome to sponsor a wooden doghouse, which, unlike plastic doghouses—which are suitable only as temporary shelter—are durable and heat-retaining.

“The best place for any dog or cat is indoors with the rest of the family, where it’s safe, dry, and warm,” says PETA Senior Vice President Daphna Nachminovitch. “When animals are relegated to the outdoors, PETA works to improve their lot in life by providing a dry, sturdy refuge from freezing winter nights—but we need our community’s assistance to get these animals help right away.”

PETA offers the following tips for safeguarding animals during winter weather:

• Keep animals indoors. This is absolutely critical when it comes to puppies and kittens, elderly animals, small animals, and dogs with short hair, including pointers, beagles, pit bulls, and Rottweilers.
• Don’t allow your cat or dog to roam outdoors. During winter, cats sometimes climb under the hoods of cars to be near warm engines and are badly injured or killed when the car is started.
• Keep an eye out for stray animals. Take unidentified animals indoors until you can find their guardians or take them to an animal shelter.
• If you see animals left outside without adequate shelter (description available at PETA.org) from the elements, please notify authorities.

For more information, please visit PETA.org.