Tinsley Mortimer Says, ‘Buy Shoes, Not Dogs,’ In New PETA PSA

TV Star Urges Fans to Adopt From Shelters, Where Millions of Homeless Animals Wait for Loving Homes

For Immediate Release:
April 23, 2020

Contact:
Moira Colley 202-483-7382

“I definitely love to shop,” The Real Housewives of New York star Tinsley Mortimer explains in a new video for PETA. “[B]ut when you find out how many homeless animals that are in need of a loving home and family, there’s just absolutely no excuse to buy from a breeder.”

In the face of the COVID-19 pandemic, adoption is more important now than ever before, as shelters already bursting at the seams anticipate an influx of abandoned animals during this time of uncertainty and financial instability. PETA notes that many facilities are being forced to switch to a temporary appointment-only system, so people looking to adopt an animal should call their local shelter for more information.

Sharing why she’s so glad to have adopted her beloved dogs, Strawberry and Shortcake, who appear in the ad campaign, too, Mortimer adds, “A dog, I think, really knows when they’ve been rescued. They know that you’ve taken them out of a situation and given them a loving home. And you have given them a second chance at life. What they give you, though, is so much more rewarding.”

Every year, more than 6 million dogs and cats are turned in to U.S. animal shelters, and half of them have to be euthanized, often because there aren’t enough good homes for them. Countless more end up on the street, where they may starve, freeze, get hit by cars, or endure neglect or abuse.

Mortimer joins a long list of celebrities—including fellow Real Housewives stars Joanna Krupa, Bethenny Frankel, and Adriana de Moura—who’ve joined forces with PETA or its affiliates to promote kindness to animals.

PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to abuse in any way”—opposes speciesism, which is a human-supremacist worldview. For more information, please visit PETA.org.