Welcome to Email News: Hungry dogs chained up and shivering in the Arctic wind

Will you help animals like Birch?

Dear Aaaaaaa,

Birch was just a puppy when she sustained a debilitating, painful spinal cord injury at a kennel owned by a former Iditarod champion. After watching her struggle to get in and out of the rickety wooden box that served as her only escape from the bone-chilling Arctic wind, I had to do something to help her.

I offered to take her to a veterinarian for care—but the mushers who owned the kennel refused, evidently fearing that anyone who saw her would conclude that they were "being real hard on 'em." Instead, they just left the seriously injured dog chained outside to drag herself through the ice and snow.

After witnessing what happened to Birch and the dozens of other dogs enduring neglect at that kennel, I'm more determined than ever to take down the cruel dogsledding industry—and today, I'm asking for your support to keep this kind of vital investigative work going strong in the new year.

Will you strengthen PETA's work to end the exploitation and abuse by making your very first gift of just $3 today? Your support could change the life of a dog like Birch, but we need your donation before the December 31st deadline.

Birch sustained her debilitating injury before she was even old enough to race—but even an Iditarod win wasn't enough to make Snickers' life any less miserable.

Years after year, she was forced to haul a laden sled through more than 1,000 miles of ice and snow. Yet Snickers was still condemned to a life of neglect at the same kennel run by musher John Baker. When I met her, she walked with a painful limp from chronic arthritis. Until I built a doghouse for her, she had no shelter from the howling wind and subzero temperatures—and no chance to receive the affection and comfort that every dog deserves.

Snickers and dozens of other dogs were kept outdoors around the clock, suffering through the long, dark nights of the Arctic winter with dilapidated wooden boxes, plastic barrels, or sometimes nothing at all to provide even meager shelter. Some dogs were so thin that their ribs and hip bones jutted out of their sides—but even they were denied decent food and clean water. Instead, their meals consisted of a watery stew of raw meat that was often rotten or moldy.

Such rampant neglect is more than miserable—it can be deadly. At another kennel, a dog with an open, infected wound received no veterinary care and one dog was even reportedly dragged to death during training.

Aaaaaaa, we're doing all that we can to stop this extreme suffering in the year ahead. If you don't want dogs or other animals to face such misery in 2020, please make your very first gift to PETA to help them.

As a kind person, I was horrified to see these sensitive, intelligent animals suffering so intensely for cruel entertainment. But I'm heartened to know that, thanks to supporters like you, PETA is already making wonderful progress in exposing (and ending) the abuse. Major companies—including Coca-Cola, Jack Daniel's, State Farm, and Wells Fargo—have already stopped sponsoring the Iditarod after hearing from PETA and thousands of its supporters. And through headline-grabbing "dog graveyard" demonstrations, online actions, and more, PETA is keeping the pressure on Chrysler, Alaska Airlines, and other holdouts to make the same compassionate decision.

None of us can give up until the Iditarod is completely dog-free! Pitch in to help dogs and others in 2020 by making a gift of $3 or more today.

Thank you.

Sincerely,

Anonymous
PETA Investigator