Bringing Parker in From the Cold: And Helping Those Who Are Still Outside and Shivering

When PETA fieldworkers first met Parker, the beagle pup’s world was no bigger than a parking space. His “home” was a patchwork pen of cinderblocks, rusted fencing, and old tarps that did little to block the icy wind slicing through rural North Carolina. His water bowl? A cracked bucket filled with frozen mud.

All winter, fieldworkers returned with fresh straw, food, and water – anything to take the edge off the cold. Each time, they urged Parker’s owner to bring him inside or allow PETA to find him a proper home. Each time, the answer was no. But PETA persisted.

When Parker’s owner finally agreed to hand him over, our fieldworkers quickly drove him to PETA’s shelter. There, Parker got his first bath and what was surely his first satisfying meal ever. His tail, once tucked tight beneath him, slowly began to wag. And the best was still ahead!

Florida, Here We Come!

Parker was adopted by a loving family in Florida and immediately took a shine to life in the Sunshine State. On day one, Parker and his new family went for a walk around the neighborhood – what an adventure! – and met some neighbors. Parker and the family’s other two dogs formed their own little pack, eventually falling asleep together in a pile on the couch.

No Happy Ending for Many Dogs Left Out in the Cold

Just a short distance from where Parker once shivered, four other dogs –Juju, Drako, Eve, and Coco – never got their chance at a new life. For years, PETA pleaded with their owners to bring them indoors or surrender them, but they refused. Then, one day, when fieldworkers returned on a routine visit, they found the dogs’ decomposing bodies still chained to the barren patches of dirt where they had spent their entire lives.

Countless dogs die every year in areas where laws don’t prevent chaining, and authorities rarely intervene, even when negligence is heartbreakingly obvious. PETA is pressing elected officials to pass emergency ordinances to ban the continuous chaining of dogs and implement mandatory standards of care.

Hope for Forgotten Dogs

When laws are lax and owners refuse to bring dogs inside, PETA fieldworkers do everything possible to help them survive. They drive miles in every kind of weather, hauling sturdy wooden doghouses – over 8,400 free doghouses have been delivered since our program started – into yards where dogs have little or no shelter. They also provide nourishing food and fresh water, and each dog receives a toy – usually their first. And they take time to scratch behind dogs’ ears and speak to them gently, letting them know that someone cares.

For dogs like Lil Boy, whose splintered wooden doghouse had let bitter wind blow through the cracks, these visits mean the difference between surviving a cold snap and freezing to death overnight.

Parker’s sunny life in Florida happened because of PETA’s persistence. But other dogs are waiting with empty bowls and frozen paws. PETA will keep knocking on doors, delivering doghouses, stuffing straw into shelters, and pushing for laws to protect them. Every dog deserves what Parker has now: safety, love, and a real life.