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Free Body Bag With Purchase of a Puppy

Written by PETA

Posted 07-15-2008

61 Comments

Readers of Dog Fancy magazine opened the recent issue to see an ad that read, "Just bought a brand-new purebred puppy? Welcome him or her into your home with a free gift bag! Call us today at 1-866-834-6061 to claim your bag and hear about our products." The ad's offer sounds good enough, right?

Well, for people who actually called the number, the offer may have lost some of its appeal when they learned that the "gift" bags are actually body bags! If readers knew the ad was placed by PETA, they may have expected the shocking twist, but why would we want to give away a little detail like that?

The ad and the body bags were created to serve as a strong reminder to all dog lovers that for every dog you buy, another one will die, because every dog purchased from a breeder takes a spot in a home that a homeless dog is dying to fill. With the millions of homeless animals in this country, it's insane to buy rather than adopt.

Our video "Buy One, Get One Killed" drives home that point nicely.

Posted by Jennifer Cierlitsky

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ABC, sports, shelters, breeders, veggie dogs, demo, huskies, Capitol Hill, of, North, White Rain Carolina, UNC, tar heels, wildcats, sparty, katie adams, dog fancy

Recent Comments

gerry commented:

8-11-2010 2:08 PM

I think that a related issue is that people who rent have a difficult time finding petfriendly housing when they move. I am currently looking to move and have pets. I would never give them up. As a result it is way harder to find housing. I have seen postings on Craigslist for houses renting for thousands of dollars a month with the landlords posting no pets allowed. And all require thousands in deposit money anyway. I would love to see a campaign where every time an ad is placed animal lovers respond with a reminder about how many animals are brought to pounds as a result of housing issues.
â™¥â™¥â™¥ commented:

10-1-2009 2:16 PM

ppl r so STUPID and ignorant!!! those ppl should die instead of the poor little defenseless animals!! the r so stupid and narrow minded!! this fets me so mad!! poor animals. they have feelings too!! i PETA! AMINAL RIGHTS!!!!
Samantha commented:

6-2-2009 7:21 PM

Scott if people stop buying from irresponsible breeders and pet stores they will eventually stop breeding. Honestly I believe there is a need for SOME breeders for cases such as allergies as stated above. But generally you can find a GREAT animal at a shelter. Jessica it is very unfortunate that you were not able to adopt a dog but they have those restrictions for a reason. They don't want to see that dog back in a couple weeksmonths when it snaps at your kid for pulling it's hair. You could easily have waited until they had a "green" dog although it's great that you saved your coworkers kittens instead. You probably could have trained many of those dogs to be fantastic with your kids some of them may have been fine without ANY training... But the shelter tries to ensure the safety of both the animal and the family taking it home. It is very unfortunate that you could not adopt at the time you preferred but the fact that they only turned you away due to the risk to your children seems like another reason to adopt. They have your best interests at heart as well where the breeders not all and pet store do not. PETA does tend to be a little extreme which turns many people off to the organization. But it also exposes many people to the harsh reality of animal cruelty when they may not have been exposed to it any other way. While they may dislike PETA they may also see the logic of their argument. I don't know it's not necessarily the greatest approach but sometimes people need to be shocked...
Scott commented:

3-16-2009 2:58 PM

This is a horrible idea. yeah for every purebred dog that someone buys a homeless dog dies but there are going to be the same number of dogs being born whether we adopt or buy so how are we helping save lives?? If i get one dog it doesnt matter where i get it from its still one dog...do the math people the only way less dogs get killed is if pounds kill less dogs
Jessica McFarling commented:

12-22-2008 12:59 AM

I tried to get a dog from the animal shelter and I also tried to get a dog from an animal rescue foster home. I was not successful either time. The shelter had such strict rules and I had small kids so they would not allow me to adopt certain dogs. They had some kind of color code system for the dogs personality and how it would behave around children. We were only allowed to adopt "green" dogs but there were not any green dogs. When we went to the rescue foster home the lady observed us with the dog and she unilaterally decided that we could not have that dog "again because of our small kids". I felt we would have been able to train him and we had a nice backyard for him but she was very picky and would not let us have him. Why is it that no one has acknowledged the fact that when you adopt you are at the mercy of whether other people think you are a "good home" and who knows what criteria they use to determine that. Since we were unsuccessful getting the dog we ended up getting 2 kittens. Fortunately I had an irresponsible coworker who did not spay her cat and had a litter in which I was able to chose the kittens of my choice. She was of course happy to get them a home and was not picky. I have had them for 6 years now and I love them to death. I just wanted to point out to all of you who think that you can just go down and get a dog from the shelter that it is not that simple and I think you should acknowlege that before condemning people who get a dog the only way they can.
peta commented:

9-6-2008 10:12 PM

need more bags
Stella barvon commented:

9-6-2008 2:55 PM

apparently the cute little ads about spaying and neutering were not hitting home. what society? having trouble dealing with reality? sugar coating it not working anymore? grow up this is reality and you have to deal with it.
Wiggles commented:

9-6-2008 2:23 PM

I rescue dogs. I know the puppy mills have horrible conditions and sell unhealthy dogs most of the time. The poor mothers and fathers are kept in cages with no contact outside. People often buy a puppy for their kids and it ends up matted and negledted in the yard. There are a few responsible breeders who try to produce healthy puppies in loving humane homes..but I could not in good concience buy a puppy myself. I think the Body Bag idea is a little "over kill" if you get the pun. I think PETA could get the message across better with positive approaches to people wanting to buy puppies. There are many puppies in shelters and rescues too if someone wants a puppy. I am totally for adoption of shelter and rescue dogs and I have seen the result of the "Throw aways" I have rescued and groomed loved given veterinary care and many have been adopted. I thank PETA for what it does to help save homeless pets and descourage pet store buying. I saw a petstore in So CAl. It was FULL of beautiful puppies in cages with high price tags. My grandkids wanted to see the cute puppies so I went in and it was very hard for me not to break down and cry knowing what I know about this money hungry business of puppy mills and bad breeders. I will add that the body bag approach is probably true. A dog dies in a shelter because people buy puppies. It is a shocker but true.
Elizabeth D. commented:

9-6-2008 1:01 PM

I think that PETA's strategy was genius! Plenty of "politically correct" attention has already been given to the homeless pet crisis in this country but the problem is people aren't listening...sometimes it takes a shock like this to wake them up! Seems to me that people who are offended by this might be carrying around a little guilt. I love my pitbull mix rescue dog and support PETA all the way! Besides you should always be suspicious when someone offers you something for free!
John commented:

9-6-2008 11:18 AM

Too many of you are nitpicking details the exceptions not the rules. If you need a hypoallergenic pet go for it. But check with animal agencies to see if free adoptables are available BEFORE you give money to a breeder. Suggesting all pets disappear if all breeding stops is idiotic for no law will ever catch 100 of the offenders you're just crying wolf. Apartment fees? You can afford to BUY a dog but not the fees? Adopt instead THEN pay the fee with the money saved. As for breeders I've worked for a few and met many and none of them are animal lovers. They are show dog factory owners living vicariously through their animal's attributes. Dog Shows are beauty pageants for ugly people.

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