Size
(when grown) Med. 26-60 lbs (12-27 kg)
Details
Good with kids,
Good with dogs,
Good with cats,
Spayed or Neutered,
Story
The very first time I met Dio, he was being eaten alive by fleas—the sight was so shocking that I asked my coworker if she would film the infestation. “This is crazy,” I told my fellow fieldworker behind the lens. Perhaps, we hoped, we could play the crazy clip for Dio’s owner and he’d be compelled to finally bring the chained bulldog indoors. But after Dio’s owner heartbreakingly denied him this simple act of kindness, PETA’s social media team took to the internet to raise awareness: “No dog should live like this,” the video was captioned.
Understandably, concerned viewers flooded the comments section with questions, including, “No after, or process video?” and “Is there an update on this poor dog” and “Will u post the update?” More than 33 million video views and two months of PETA’s persistence later, the update is this: Dio will indeed never have to live like that again!
PETA fieldworkers are not law-enforcement officers. We cannot seize dogs. We work with owners to improve animals’ living conditions, and we keep our door wide open to taking custody of animals when folks can no longer care for their dogs, cats, or other animal companions. In Dio’s case, his owner initially refused PETA’s petitions to find the bulldog a safe, loving, flea-free home indoors. So in a jurisdiction where animal control authorities deem the existence portrayed in the video above perfectly legal, fieldworkers were left with only one choice: For more than a year, we visited Dio regularly.
We brought him an insulated, custom-built wooden doghouse to replace his chewed-up plastic one; we stuffed that doghouse with straw in the winter, to keep Dio a little less cold; we scrubbed clean his routinely algae-filled water bucket and filled it with fresh water more times than we could count; we brought him squeaky toys and long-lasting chew treats in the hope of alleviating his deprivation a little; we urged Dio’s owner to let us swap his heavy chain for a lightweight tie-out on every visit, despite being denied each time; and we treated Dio and his area for the severe flea infestation we stumbled upon in August.
After that fated, scorching summer visit, with a little time and a lotta tenacity, fieldworkers persuaded the bulldog’s owner to finally at least allow fieldworkers to transport Dio to and from a free neuter surgery so that PETA’s veterinary care team could prescribe some much-needed (and also free) relief for the itchy dog’s skin. When PETA’s field team learned of Dio’s owner’s plan to put the bulldog right back on his chain in the backyard—mere hours after he’d awoken from surgery—one fieldworker launched into the heart-to-heart to end all heart-to-hearts, one that permitted PETA at long last to give the deserving dog a new leash on life.
As reported by his foster guardian, Dio is “overall just a sweet, lovable guy.” The coffee table–shaped dude has been getting on beautifully with his current canine roommates and even with his foster feline friends! And at 50 lbs., the roughly 2-year-old boy is equally the perfect animal companion for couch cuddles as well as for awesome adventures. If you’re keen to help this neutered, vaccinated, microchipped bully boy keep fleas and chains in his rearview mirror, e-mail Adopt@peta.org now!
