‘A half retriever, half question mark’ for PETA campaign.
By Deepak Chitnis
WASHINGTON, DC: The People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) organization has announced reigning Miss America Nina Davuluri as the spokesperson for their “Adoption Saves Lives” campaign.
The “Adoption Saves Lives” campaign was created by PETA in order to motivate potential pet owners to adopt pets, particularly dogs, from animal shelters and pounds, rather than buying them from breeders. Specifically, the campaign advocates buying mutts, or dogs of mixed breeds, over more expensive purebreds.
To that end, PETA and Davuluri are saying that by adopting a mutt, a pet-owner is celebrating diversity, something which the first Indian-origin Miss America probably knows a thing or two about – in fact, her Miss America mission is entitled “Celebrating Diversity Through Cultural Competency.”
To help launch the campaign, Davuluri shot a stunning new photographic ad on a scenic beach in Malibu, California, in which she is featured holding a mutt dog. The ad was shot by renowned photographer Jack Day, and a behind-the-scenes video of the shoot can be found below, in which Davuluri goes into greater detail about why she believe it’s important for dogs and cats to be adopted from shelters rather than bought from breeders.
“I have Hanuman, and he is 13 years old. And he is half retriever, half question mark,” said Davuluri, in a statement provided by PETA. “I would really like people to know that every time they purchase an animal from a breeder, an animal is also losing their home—a rescue animal is losing their home.”
Davuluri also cautions that owning a dog or cat is a big responsibility, and advises would-be pet owners to make sure that they have what it takes to provide and care for a pet.
“Having an animal is a full-time job,” she says. “It really is a huge responsibility—not only feeding them and walking them, playing with them, making sure that they’re healthy, taking them to the veterinarian. It’s just really important that they understand that it is a very large responsibility.”
Davuluri and PETA’s behind-the-scenes video can be viewed below: