Please be an ‘angel’ for a hot, miserable dog?
As the heat of summer sets in, neglected backyard dogs face soaring temperatures, the scorching sun, and energy-sapping humidity as well as the wind and pounding rains from powerful summer thunderstorms.
For many of these animals, a sturdy doghouse with an overhanging roof that provides shade can mean the difference not only between abject misery and a little comfort but also between life and death. That’s why PETA’s “Angels for Animals” program is so wonderful—and so important. Can I count on you to be an “angel” for a lonely, unfortunate dog this summer?
As an “angel for animals,” you can sponsor a specially designed PETA-built doghouse that will provide a needy dog with shelter to see him or her through scorching summers—and cold winters—for years to come.
Your sponsorship can immediately change the life of animals like Chow and Pit. When PETA first met these two neglected animals, their North Carolina “owner” had had them for more than a year yet had been too lazy even to name them. He simply called them “Chow” and “Pit” (after their breeds).
Each of these sweet dogs was tethered by the neck with an extremely heavy chain at the center of a large dirt circle—created by the dog’s restricted range of movement at the end of the chain. The dogs could never escape their “prison yard.” Pit had only a damp plastic barrel for shelter, and Chow called a grossly inadequate plastic doghouse “home.” (Plastic doghouses are like ovens in the summertime.) Both dogs had dug holes in the ground in an attempt to escape the relentless summer heat.
The harsh reality is that some people cannot afford to take proper care of their dogs and cats, while others don’t know how or just plain don’t care. Sometimes, PETA can legally remove the dogs and even bring criminal charges against their “owners.” But sometimes, we are prohibited by local laws from taking such actions. That’s when we do everything we can to help reduce their daily suffering. We returned to check on Chow and Pit, and when we did, we took them PETA custom-built doghouses filled with soft straw bedding. The doghouses provided Chow and Pit with some urgently needed shade and protection from intense thunderstorms, a common occurrence in North Carolina on summer afternoons.
Since we started the program, PETA has distributed more than 4,300 doghouses, thanks to generous “angels for animals.” Now, with more dogs in urgent need of shelter and temperatures at or near their year-long highs, I very much hope that we can count on your support.
No matter how much you can afford to give, I urge you to respond today. It is in economic tough times like these that unloved animals suffer the most. Nearly all the dogs we reach with our “Angels for Animals” program live in underprivileged neighborhoods. I promise you that PETA will fight as hard as we can to make sure that these dogs are not mistreated, forgotten, or ignored.
Thank you so very much for coming to the rescue of at least one sorely neglected dog this summer. Your simple act of kindness can bring one of these dear animals years of shelter, lasting them through many changing seasons, from bitter winters to scorching-hot summers.
Kind regards,
Ingrid E. Newkirk
President
