ohmidog!

Not everybody who uses dogs in their advertising is out to make a quick buck. Some of the best commercials starring dogs are produced for animal welfare organizations to promote adoptions, like this one for LAAnimalServices.com.

It’s subtle, understated, well-acted and well-conceived. Rather than grab for your heartstrings, it reaches for your funny bone. We especially like the tagline:

“If only everyone saw you the way your dog does.”

All of our “Woof in Advertising” selections can be found archived here.

A task force has determined that mass dog-breeding facilities overseas are attempting to flood the U.S. market with pupppy mill dogs, the general manager of Los Angeles Animal Services says.

The task force was created this year, after three shipments of puppy mill dogs were flown into LAX from the Far East on Seoul, Korea-based Asiana Airlines. The dogs were intercepted and confiscated by LA Animal Services and LA County Public Health officials, and were found to have questionable health certificates and questionable health.

Of the ten dogs that survived – five underage Yorkies and five eight week-old Maltese puppies — all were seriously dehydrated after making the trip in the cargo hold of the airliner and with no food and water.

These puppies represent an “all too typical example of how the demand for purebred puppies has created a situation ripe for abuse,” said Ed Boks, head of animal services for Los Angeles.

The interception and rescue of the puppies prompted the formation of a multi-agency animal cargo task force that conducted a three-week survey of incoming animals at LAX from other countries.

In addition to undermining efforts to increase shelter adoptions, Boks said, the shipments raise concerns about disease (including rabies) and homeland security.

There are hundreds of thousands of puppy mills around the world – over 720,000 in South Korea alone, Boks wrote on his blog.

The ten puppies rescued in June will be available for adoption, starting Dec. 20.

(Photo from the blog of Ed Boks, general manager of LA Animal Services)

While celebrities walked the red carpet at Thursday night’s premiere of “Beverly Hills Chihuahua,” about 20 protesters stood by with signs urging people not to rashly buy chihuahuas after they see the movie.

“We know the movie is cute,” says Kim Sill, who runs the campaign against puppy mills for Last Chance for Animals, the group that organized the protest. “We don’t want to say we’re against the movie. We’re against people going to a pet store after they see the movie.  We want them to go to a shelter, because there are a lot of Chihuahuas there”

Animal welfare advocates have been concerned about the impact the Disney movie — which opens Oct. 3 — will have on sales of Chihuahuas, the Los Angeles Times reports in its pet blog, Unleashed.

Popular dog movies often cause a run on the breed featured. “101 Dalmatians” led to a surge in Dalmatian ownership. But when people realize the dog may not be right for their family — Damaltians are difficult and Chihuahuas are not always great with children –”they get dumped,” says Sills.

When a movie is about to open, puppy mills, she contends, gear up to produce more of that breed to supply pet stores.

There are already more Chihuahuas among registered dogs in Los Angeles County than any other breed, and shelters say they already have high concentrations of the breed.

Some of the Chihuhuas at the Carson shelter, run by the Los Angeles County shelter system, are featured in the video that Last Chance for Animals made to drive home its point about not buying Chihuahuas.

Sill said her group wanted Disney to air a pre-movie public service announcement in theaters, telling patrons to think hard before choosing a pet. “We would have happily produced it for them and given it to them,” said Sill.

The movie’s credits include an advisory that getting a pet is a serious and lifelong commitment that should be researched first.

Ed Boks, general manager of LA Animal Services, saw the movie Thursday night.  “I was a bit disappointed,” he said. “The movie has a strong ‘adopt’ and ‘rescue’ message, but no ‘spay/neuter’ message. In fact, one female dog opined that she longed for a boyfriend who has NOT been ‘fixed.’

“…Disney just does not seem to share our concern over the influence this movie could have on people who will now think of Chihuahuas as cash cows.”