The Super Bowl is coming up, and everyone – even me – is always curious to see the commercials. Since I don’t think we’ll get Janet Jackson’s wardrobe malfunction again any time soon, it’s the best thing I’ve got for entertainment during the big game. Yesterday, the GoDaddy puppy came along, as they released their making-fun-of-the-Puppy-Bowl commercial, entitled Journey Home. It’s an appalling story of an adorable pup thrown from the back of a pickup truck making his way home, only to be greeted with affection and told that he was just sold on a newly created website.
I’m all for commerce, but did nobody with a pet, or any common sense, watch this before it was approved? According tot he Humane Society of the US, each year, there are between 6 and 8 million pets turned in
to shelters. Of those, somewhere between 3 and 4 million are killed. Every year. I am not shy about advocating for pet adoption. After all, I have two adorable rescue mutts, who are now enjoying the luxurious life of couch napping, treat eating, yard playing and excess affection.
Both of our dogs came from Paws 2 Care Coalition. The folks at P2CC picked up Babka from a high kill shelter after she had been dumped there at 8 months old. Why was she left there? I have no idea. But I do know – and this a gross understatement – that in her short 8 month life she was not treated well before being left to die. She has rebounded nicely, but has been left with some emotional scars.
Latke, on the other hand, at two months old, was tossed over the fence at an abandoned, foreclosed house, and left there to fend for herself. She weighed three pounds at the time. Luckily, someone saw her and called P2CC to get her, which they did. Latke has been treated well by humans, with the exception of the first two months, which she does not seem to recall. Latke has settled in to life with us, and her sister, nicely.
When we first decided to adopt a dog, as there was no way I was buying one from a breeder, reputable or not, I went to the Humane Society in Broward. There I saw every type of dog, from purebred Bichon Frise to Jack Russell terriers and every other breed imaginable. Some were mutts, some were purebred, but the one thing they all had in common was a ticking clock. They needed to be adopted before they got sick, or depressed (as often happens to dogs in shelters) or they would not make it out alive.
So for GoDaddy to go so far as condoning breeding animals and selling them online, and that driving animals
in trucks where they can easily fall out and get injured is acceptable, is just too much. I understand that they have pulled the ad from the Super Bowl, but I would hope that this debacle would lead to a bit of education for both GoDaddy executives and the public at large. If you want a pure bred animal there is no reason not to check your local shelters first. If you want a mutt, or are not too picky about breed, there is a wide selection available. Please do not shop for your next dog on the internet. Do not enable breeders and puppy mills to abuse animals. For more on puppy mills, check out the ASPCA site here.
Don’t get me started on dogs loose in the back of a truck.
