Reality TV star Pete Wicks has previously admitted to preferring dogs to people. Both of his dogs, Peggy and Eric, are rescue dogs.
He explains why he is happy to be a National Dog Adoption Day celebrity ambassador.
Photo Credit: K9 Magazine
“There are so many dogs in rescue now, especially French Bulldogs, and some people don’t even think about getting a rescue dog. They think “I don’t know where the dog has come from”, “I don’t know this or that”, but it’s not always the case that when you get a dog from a breeder you know the answers to those things anyway. A lot of the time you don’t. And then when the dog ends up with breathing problems or BOAS (Brachycephalic Obstructive Airway Syndrome), which affects breeds with flat faces like French Bulldogs, people decide they can’t or don’t want to deal with that and they end up dumping the dog in shelters, or worse, and that’s how they end up in rescue. That’s why I always talk about ‘adopt don’t shop’.
“There’s so much mistreating of dogs, not just French Bulldogs but all sorts of dogs. It’s too easy to get a dog, dump them and treat them badly. I’ve said for a long time that there should be some kind of licence that you need to have to be able to own a dog.
Photo Credit: K9 Magazine
“Owning a dog changed my whole life. It changed everything. You can’t just decide to go out for dinner and stay out until 4am, you have a living being waiting for you at home, relying on you to get back.
“My dogs have changed my whole life, 100% for the better. They’ve made me more responsible and that’s what I try to get across. It’s a big responsibility and you can’t take it lightly.”