Written by PETA
Vice President Biden and his purebred German shepherd puppy, Champ, have been all over the news this evening in reports about how the breeder who sold him the puppy has fallen on hard times, saying that she would "never, never, never again" sell to someone with a high profile. But we have a better idea: How about not selling to … oh, I don't know … anyone? With shelter dogs dying every day for lack of a good home, it's completely irresponsible to breed dogs for profit. Period.
When we initially got the news that the Bidens had naïvely purchased Champ from a breeder, we ran one of our popular television ads in his home state of Delaware titled "Buy One, Kill One," which reminds viewers that every time you buy a dog from a breeder, a dog in an animal shelter dies. We think it gets the point across nicely. Check it out here:
This past December, though, Mr. Vice Prez himself made positive headlines in The PETA Files when he announced that his plans also included adopting a dog in the future from an animal shelter. We even sent Biden presents in honor of the good news, including a doggy gift bag, spay-neuter certificates, and promises of more goodies to come when the new pup arrived. We hope he'll stay true to his word and make some pup lucky!
The Biden's high profile could shower positive media attention on abandoned dogs and shed light on the overpopulation crisis. Fingers crossed!
Written by Christine Doré
We recently reported that Vice President-elect Joe Biden and his wife bought a dog from a breeder instead of adopting one from an animal shelter. Fortunately, the moaning was loud enough for the Bidens to get the message, and our VP-elect says that he's getting a second dog, this one from an animal shelter.
PETA is sending Biden and his pups praise and presents in honor of this good news. We're delivering a basket containing soy pig ears; spay certificates, including free transportation to PETA's own mobile spay-and-neuter clinic; plastic popsicle pull toys; coupons that he can give the pup that are good for tummy rubs and long walks; and maybe even doggie beer. PETA is also promising to send a $500 gift bag of supplies and treats to the animal shelter that helps the Bidens save a homeless pooch.
PETA President Ingrid E. Newkirk said the following about this good news: "Thanks go out to VP-elect Biden for raising the issue of the companion animal overpopulation crisis in this country, which is as bleak as our economy. Animal homelessness also requires urgent attention by cutting animal breeders off at the pass and bailing out animal shelters."
Written by Joel Bartlett
"So, PETA," you might be asking as the end of the year quickly approaches, "what exactly did y'all do this year? Anything interesting?"
We're glad you asked, as it just so happens that we've put together this video, which just so happens to highlight some of the sweet PETA goings-on from 2008. Watch it and tell us what you think:
"But oh, dear PETA Files," you might be saying, "I wish I could read more about all the cool stuff I saw in that video." Well, friends, you have come to the right place!
We at the PETA Files are more than happy to tell you all about how we took to the streets as M&Ms, Trollsens, and naked ladies in the shower. We love telling you about PETA celeb friends, from rather-go-naked Eva, Amanda, and Jenna, to vegetarians Shanna, Mac, and John. Oh, and of course we know everything about doggie- and kitty-loving Fred, Carrie Ann, and Simon as well as horse-defending Kristen, Pink, and Alec. Ya know, not to name-drop or anything.
And don't worry—we can also tell you all about victories such as the new animal welfare policies for KFC suppliers in Canada, the spay-and-neuter ordinance in Los Angeles, Zappos.com's promise to go fur-free, the E.U.'s ban on seal fur, and the new regulations for horseracing—not to mention our investigations at a Hormel supplier and Aviagen.
Of course, if you'd rather see more pictures, you can also check out our awesome end-of-year slideshow.
This has been quite the year, wouldn't you say? What was your favorite PETA moment from 2008?
Written by Amanda Schinke
I'm pleased to announce that I have a surprise for my family—but first, listen to this: Following our appeal to them, the nationwide chain Dollar Tree has agreed to stop selling glue traps! This decision will spare untold numbers of mice, birds, squirrels, and even house hamsters and other small animals from slow deaths by starvation and dehydration.
Why am I personally so extremely excited? Well, of course, there's the fact that taking glue traps off the shelves will prevent huge amounts of suffering, because animals who become trapped in them often tear off patches of skin or fur in their frantic efforts to escape. Sometimes they even try to chew off their own limbs.
However, this also means that I will now have the perfect place to grab my last-minute stocking-stuffers this year (circa December 23 or 24, which is when I typically start shopping).
I hope my giftees will be as delighted as you all must be. But don't forget that we still need your help to get Lowe's to stop selling glue traps too. Click here to take action.
Written by Sean Conner
Right about now, we bet Vice President-elect Joe Biden is kicking himself for his decision to buy a purebred dog from a breeder, rather than adopt from a shelter.
The Philadelphia Department of Agriculture has handed Wolf Den kennel—the Chester County kennel where Biden purchased his puppy—citations for various violations. The violations included failure to produce complete rabies vaccinations records, which are required for dogs who are more than 3 months old.
Authorities also detected a strong ammonia smell in the building where the dogs are housed and found structural dangers such as broken wires and piping, which could potentially start a fire or fatally injure the animals.
Geesh, not to state the obvious but, well, we did tell him so in this letter, which PETA President Ingrid Newkirk sent to Vice President-elect Biden and his wife urging them to save a life and adopt a dog from an animal shelter.
As disheartening as it was to see one of this country's future leaders give into the lies of profiteering puppy breeders, we do still have high hopes that President-elect Obama will adopt a homeless mutt from an animal shelter for his girls. Just like he said back in November, "[a] lot of shelter dogs are mutts like me."
Unfortunately, it's pretty safe to assume that the breeder who sold the Bidens their dog conveniently forgot to mention that conditions for dogs in puppy mills stink. Puppies are housed in tiny, filthy cages and forced to stand in their own waste, which might be cleaned out if the dogs are lucky.
Check out the horrid conditions at puppy mills for yourself in a video narrated by Charlize Theron:
Written by Jennifer Cierlitsky
I was extremely disappointed to read that Vice President-elect Joe Biden and his wife bought a dog from a breeder instead of adopting one from an animal shelter. Obviously he or his wife blanked on Ingrid's letter, which asked him to consider adopting and explained, "Every year, U.S. animal shelters are forced to euthanize millions of wonderful, deserving dogs and cats because of the lack of good homes."
Ugh. I'm sorely upset about this—not to mention worried that his supporters will now all run out and get purebred German shepherds. I mean, not only is it really out of touch with dog issues to buy a dog from a breeder—or plain cold-hearted—it's such a bad idea that one New Mexico county has just banned selling dogs from pet stores altogether. At least some Americans know what's up. So what's with our future vice president?
If it weren't bad enough that Biden chose to buy from a breeder, we are now trying to confirm the accuracy of a report that was sent to us alleging that he bought his dog from a known puppy mill operator! An anti–puppy mill activist who claims to have firsthand knowledge of this particular breeder's operation writes, "When I was there, she had dogs living outside in [I]gloos and a large side building wrapped in blue plastic … the barking was deafening … her inspection report states approximately 100 breeding dogs … she sold more than 275 dogs in 2006 … it was a stupid move on Biden's part … a puppy mill, for sure." Wow, Biden—if this is true, you've left us speechless.
Well, we decided to remind Mr. Biden and his home state of Delaware that every time someone buys a dog from a breeder, a dog in an animal shelter is killed. We will be running the following PSA on every station we can in Delaware:
Mr. Biden may have let us down, but we're still pinning our hopes on President-elect Obama, who said, "[a] lot of shelter dogs are mutts like me."
When the Obamas first announced that they would be bringing a dog into their family at the end of the election, we all hoped that they would choose to adopt a rescue dog—and whaddaya know, our hopes were realized when Michelle Obama confirmed that the family would go the mutt-friendly route. And hey, what's a better example for the rest of the nation than to have a rescue as the "first dog"?
Hmm … what about having another rescue as the "second dog"? See, Senator Biden's wife promised him that they could welcome a "big dog" into their family if he were elected. She even taped pictures of dogs to the seats in his campaign plane to inspire him! This means that now that Senator Biden is officially the vice president-elect, he and Jill will start looking for the right dog to join their family. May we, again, suggest a rescue dog? There are some pretty big mutts out there, senator!
That's what PETA President Ingrid E. Newkirk has written in a letter to the Bidens—that the vice president-elect would be doing a great thing for animals by bringing another rescue dog to Washington. A home for a needy dog and another example for all Americans to follow? Sounds great to us. Click here to read Ingrid’s full letter.
If you have a general question for PETA and would like a response, please e-mail Info@peta.org. If you need to report cruelty to an animal, please click here. If you are reporting an animal in imminent danger and know where to find the animal and if the abuse is taking place right now, please call your local police department. If the police are unresponsive, please call PETA immediately at 757-622-7382 and press 2.
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