Disney promotes Adoption and Rescue in New Film

[babybunny]

http://www.hispanicbusiness.com/ente...nine_takes.htm

I saw the movie and was thrilled with the message at the end of the film. It was refreshing to see promotion of rescue through out the film as well. I think a kudos to Disney for being on the right track finally is in order.

[AnimalHouse36]

YAHOO! A very happy moment for all animal lovers everywhere! Kudos to Disney! Finally! Ugh, I only remember to well Rattatooi. (sp?) It was true rat sales went up by like 20% correct? I hope for their other movies they will continue. Even with the small animals.

[lmarieaa]

I don't know exactly how i feel about this. I have not seen this new Disney movie. I was angered by it when i saw it preview because i thought to myself "here we go again with the breed glorification.." After the 101 Dalmatians movie with Glen Close, thousands of Dalmatians were left abandoned in shelters all over the country because the movie glorified them but families could not accommodate their very high energy levels and found them difficult to train. Same thing with Air Bud, and all the numerous glorified pet movies. It results in lots of homeless animals because of Hollywood hype.
Sure, this film may encourage adopting homeless animals, but there are going to be a lot of children begging their parents for a chihuahua this Christmas. A lot of people going to breeders and pet stores looking for exact carbon copies of the movie characters to please their children, and i can just see it- the puppy mills are breeding extra chihuahuas now because they KNOW there will be a demand, regardless if the movie advocates shelters or not. And by January 2009, most of those dogs will have been surrendered, left tied out in the back yard, or just dumped in some park because the "cute trend" wore out his welcome. ITS THE SAME PHENOMENON THAT OCCURS WITH RABBITS AFTER EASTER.
I am sorry, I know i sound angry and bitter but I can from a city with a horrendous dog overpopulation problem. Where i used to live, San Antonio Texas, you could walk down a neighborhood road and see plenty of hungry skinny dogs. Most of these dogs dumped by their previous owners, and offspring of such. When i lived there (i recently moved to NY because of school) I have fostered many dogs that i have picked up off of the streets and found new homes, the ones who were brave enough or at least hungry enough to approach me (most are scared and weary because people yell and throw things at them) and i have always left food for the ones who were too scared to come to me. (my family kindly now leaves food for them for me since i am not there to do it myself.) I was even at a dog park one evening when someone dumped a small dog and sped away in their car, of course I took her in. The point being is that I have personally seen the consequences of canine homelessness, and it is truly heartbreaking when you see a skinny, mangy dog with nowhere to go and nothing to eat. I tried to help as many as I could grab.
It just sickens me to know that this film is going to contribute to the doom of many wonderful dogs forced to live awful lives, tied out on a 12 inch piece of rope in the back yard void of attention, wholesome food and water. Okay, I'm done.

[Bennalaya]

Well, the wave of popularity has already hit Atlanta. I saw several ads posted on my local Craigslist today of parents pleading, "Please! I need a purebread Chihuahua with little or no adoption fee because my daughter wants one really bad!". Today alone there were five ads placed of people requesting Teacup Chihuahuas that don't want to pay anything for them.

I, personally, am not fond of animal-theme movies. While I'm pleased that Disney used rescue animals for the filming and crew members adopted some of the stars, most people are just going to rush out and try to buy a Chihuahua for their kids, regardless of the source. I have owned a Chihuahua who lived to be fourteen years old. She had multiple health issues and needed a lot of special attention and vet care. Many are also not very good with children and other pets.

I fear that the positive message (adopting animals from shelters) will be lost among the "cuteness" of these tiny little dogs and the frantic search of parents to appease their harping children. Anyone remember Toga, the baby penguin, who disappeared from a British zoo around the time "March of the Penguins" was released? It's so sad when movies like this provoke impulse animal purchases and sometimes even animal abduction. Whenever the parents find out that Chihuahuas are afraid of their children are are extremely difficult to house train they're going to be dumped off and then the next wave of animal popularity will hit depending on the next animal-themed movie.

[babybunny]

Owning a pet is a major responsibility. Dogs require daily care and constant attention. Before bringing a dog into your family, research the specific breed to make sure it is suitable for your particular situation. Learn about and be willing to undertake the serious responsibilities of dog care. Always consider adoption from a reputable shelter or rescue program.

I think that Disney is finally setting a good example with this movie by putting this message on their main movie page and at the end of the movie it's self. I hadn't realized that most of their dogs in the movie (including one of the main chars) was indeed a rescue.



People who ignore the message of the movie itself and the messages at the end, are the type of people who will buy an animal regardless of a movie or not.



My son is infatuated with Chihuahuas to no end. We have a mini dachshund and Chihuahua mix as a family pet but he wants a full blooded one for himself. Obviously he isn't going to get one due to many reasons, but the movie was a great way for him to appreciate the breed he so fondly loves.


The main point of my intial post is that I think that Disney has had an eye opener and wanted to set a good example. I think that any animal lover would want support their efforts to make a change.

[lmarieaa]

Well, the wave of popularity has already hit Atlanta. I saw several ads posted on my local Craigslist today of parents pleading, "Please! I need a purebread Chihuahua with little or no adoption fee because my daughter wants one really bad!". Today alone there were five ads placed of people requesting Teacup Chihuahuas that don't want to pay anything for them.

I can see this chihuahua movie is already taking its hype effect. As soon as something good happens from this movie, as Disney "intended", let me know.