Dylan McDermott and His Adopted Mutt Otis Have a Howling Good Time in New PETA Campaign
What does FBI: Most Wanted star Dylan McDermott want most? To end cat and dog homelessness! In PETA’s adorable new campaign, the Golden Globe winner, Emmy nominee, and American Horror Story actor branches out from his usual serious roles to show his soft (and silly!) side alongside his rescued canine pal, Otis.
The two are urging everyone to do their part to curb companion-animal homelessness and overpopulation by never buying animals from breeders or pet stores. For those who are ready to bring a new family member home, there’s only one compassionate option: adoption.
McDermott has won big for his acting, but to him, there’s no feeling more rewarding than providing a loving home to an animal in need. In PETA’s video—guaranteed to be the feel-good footage you didn’t know you needed—the actor howls along with his canine companion and says that adopting Otis may have been “the greatest day of (his) life.”
“When I saw him, I was floored. I sat in my car actually in the parking lot and I was just like, ‘I can’t, I can’t leave this guy,’” McDermott says.
Otis isn’t just the star of PETA’s campaign—he’s even joined McDermott on set as a supporting canine character on FBI: Most Wanted. “I can’t believe he wasn’t nominated,” McDermott says, “He got robbed.”
The Real Horror Story: Animal Homelessness
McDermott shares that before arriving at a shelter, Otis had been badly injured after being hit by a car—which is one of the many dangers homeless cats and dogs face every day. In the U.S. alone, there are millions of homeless cats and dogs struggling to survive on the streets, where they’re vulnerable to diseases, attacks from other animals or cruel humans, starvation, and other deadly hazards. Many freeze to death when temperatures plummet in the winter and suffer from heat exhaustion in the summer. The lives of homeless cats and dogs are full of stress, loneliness, and fear.
Meanwhile, animal shelters across the country are overflowing with unwanted animals. Some shelters with misguided “no-kill” policies are warehousing dogs for months or even years and turning away animals, leaving the most vulnerable ones with nowhere to go. Those who reproduce make the companion animal overpopulation crisis worse. That’s why PETA urges shelters to accept all animals in need, advises guardians to have their animal companions spayed or neutered, and asks everyone to adopt animals instead of buying them from breeders or pet stores.
Join Dylan McDermott and Pledge to Always Adopt!
If you are prepared to commit to providing a lifetime of love and care for a companion animal, please adopt—don’t shop. Remember: Purchasing an animal from a breeder or pet store means one fewer home for an animal waiting to be adopted at a shelter.
“There’s (are) so many animals in need out there,” McDermott says. “There’s no reason to go to a pet store and buy an animal.”
You can also help curb the cat and dog homelessness and overpopulation crisis by always getting your companions “fixed” and encouraging others in your community to do the same. Pledge to help end animal homelessness and overpopulation today:
