Hop to It! PETA Urges Butler University to Replace Live Bulldog Mascot With Bullfrog Costume
For Immediate Release:
March 5, 2026
Contact:
Nicole Perreira 202-483-7382
Following Butler University’s announcement that it will retire its live bulldog mascot, Blue IV, to prioritize the animal’s health, PETA today sent a letter to President James Danko with a ribbeting proposal for his replacement: Ditch the sickly purebred and put a willing human in a costume as a hearty Hoosier native—the bullfrog.
PETA points out that bulldogs and other breathing-impaired breeds are bred to have distorted features, including unnaturally flat faces and smushed-in snouts, which cause them to snort, wheeze, and gasp for air, making otherwise joyful activities like running or chasing a ball nearly impossible to do without struggling. Subjecting a live animal—especially a breed prone to health problems—to extreme noise, travel stress, and constant handling is cruel. If the Butler Bulldogs become the Butler Bullfrogs, PETA will jumpstart the change by covering the cost of the new mascot costume.
“Parading a deformed dog around at basketball games fuels demand for greedy breeders to keep churning out these unhealthy animals and perpetuates a cycle of suffering that no dog should endure,” says PETA President Tracy Reiman. “PETA applauds Butler University for doing the right thing by retiring Blue IV and urges President Danko to make a leap forward by embracing the Butler Bullfrogs.”
PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to use for entertainment”—points out that Every Animal Is Someone and offers free Empathy Kits for people who need a lesson in kindness. For more information, please visit PETA.org or follow PETA on X, Facebook, or Instagram.
PETA’s letter to Danko follows.
March 5, 2026
James Danko
President
Butler University
Dear President Danko:
I am writing on behalf of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) – PETA entities have more than 10.4 million members and supporters worldwide, including more than 15,000 in Indianapolis.
We were delighted to hear that the University made the decision to retire Blue IV, your live bulldog mascot, out of “an abundance of care” and in an effort to prioritize his well-being. For this, you deserve a round of a‑paws!
Since you’re already on a compassionate roll, we’d love to encourage you to go the full fetch: retire the practice of using a live bulldog mascot altogether.
Live animal mascots—no matter how adored—are inevitably subjected to loud crowds, constant handling, travel stress, and the pressure to “perform” on cue. English bulldogs and other breathing-impaired breeds face an even tougher road. Solely for the sake of appearances, brachycephalic dogs like English bulldogs are intentionally bred to have harmful, deformed features like smushed-in snouts, which sentence many of them to a lifetime of chronic respiratory disease. Anyone who’s spent time with these dogs has likely heard them wheezing, snorting, and rasping, but many people don’t realize that those are the sounds of a dog struggling to breathe. For most of these dogs, just breathing through their nose is like trying to suck in air through a tiny, crumpled straw. Studies have found that nearly 90% of bulldogs are affected with some degree of breathing difficulty. When a university as prominent as Butler chooses a bulldog as its symbol, it fuels demand for breeding more of these unhealthy dogs, perpetuating a cycle of suffering that no mascot should have to shoulder.
But we have a toad‑ally brilliant alternative:
Let us introduce: The Butler Bullfrogs. They’re spirited, springy, and impossible not to cheer for. They also breathe freely, jump enthusiastically, and don’t require emergency vet visits after a walk. And 2026 is the perfect year to make this change: there’s no better way to celebrate the country’s 250th anniversary than by replacing an English bulldog with an American bullfrog! To support this leap, we’d be delighted to cover the cost of a new bullfrog mascot costume. Consider it our way of saying “thanks for hopping in the right direction.”
We hope to hear that, after considering how breathing-impaired dogs suffer, you’ll decide to do what’s best for dogs just like Blue IV by retiring Butler’s live-animal mascot program in pursuit of a kinder alternative. Thank you for your consideration.
Sincerely,
Tracy Reiman
President
