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Somebody has a sense of humor... Driving down the Post Road today this is what I saw, a shut down puppy mills double billboard (no less) from the Companion Animal Protection Society, just a hundred feet away from a real puppy mill, Puppies of Westport. They must be thrilled, and so must Models Against Pet Shops and Puppy Mills.
Photo Credit: Hopes Angels Models: Hasmik Shaw, Nina Shaw, Maggie Parks, Kiley Wirtz Jennings, Brooke Tobolka, Anna Theunissen, Emily Williams, Natalie Quintanilla. Simon Lopez, Photographer and Retouch Artist; Zack McDowell, Videographer; Kimber Yanks, Head Clothing Stylist; Leah Peev, Clothing Stylist; Candace Henry, Clothing Stylist; Yvonne Coan, Makeup Artist; Nicole Webber, Makeup Artist; Lana Adams, Makeup Artist; Aaron Reeves, Dog Handler; Bryn Durham, Dog Handler; Ann Lopez, Set Crew Member; Levi Jennings, Kiley's Husband and Chief Caterer.
Thank you so much for writing about our billboards and glad to see they are still up. The whole point of the billboard part of our campaign is to strategically place the signs near pet shops. The best location has been in the parking lot of San Diego Puppy. FOX, ABC and the Union Tribune featured the billboard in stories about the ordinance banning the retail sale of pet shop puppies, kittens and rabbits, which we were behind. The owner of San Diego Puppy is still selling dogs in violation of the ordinance.
ReplyDeleteOther components of the campaign include ads inside commuter trains, such as LIRR, Metro North, NJ Transit Authority and Metra (Chicago. We are about to place ads inside MBTA commuter trains in Boston.
There is also a PSA for the campaign: "This is the Face of a Puppy Mill Dog" featuring CAPS Spokesmodel Beatrice (the Basset Hound puppy mill survivor) and Kiley (the beautiful blonde). We are getting donated air space on Food Network, Cooking Channel, Travel Channel, HGTV, DIY, Great American Country, LOGO, Sarasota News Network, and Pittsburgh Cable News Channel. The PSA ran on five large PBS stations and Animal Planet in NYC.
The print ads have also appeared in several magazines (all donated) and articles, including in a story on People.com
Puppies of Westport used to obtain dogs from Kathy Bauck, one of the largest and most notorious dog brokers in the country. It was our documentary about how we brought her down that led to Kiley contacting us and offering the talent of her and others.
I just need to make one correction. Puppies of Westport is not a puppy mill because they don't do any breeding. They are a pet shop that obtains dogs from mills, which are commercial breeding facilities that mass-produce dogs (and cats) for resale. The store has been a target of protesters for years. CT Coalition Against Puppy Mills held a protest there in July shortly after the billboards went up.
Thank you again,
Deborah Howard
President
Companion Animal Protection Society
they support puppy mills!
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