Tucson Skechers Protest – January 28
by Karyn Zoldan on Jan. 25, 2012, under Animal Cruelty, Animal Events, Dogs, Canines, Fun with Fido, Barking Encouraged, Greyhounds
Dog racing must end!
Tucson Skechers Protest – January 28
The following email was sent to the President and VP of Skechers, Mark Cuban (owner of Dallas Mavericks who has a cameo role) and NBC.
“Dear Mr. Greenburg:
I am a huge fan of Skechers, and own many pair.
However, I am very concerned about the ad that you will be running during the Super Bowl featuring Greyhound racing. Although you have stated that this ad does not promote Greyhound racing, in fact it does.
This is a cruel, inhumane sport. Many states have been forced to close down their racing tracks, when the cruelty of the sport was documented by the media and Greyhound rescue groups. I had the privilege of owning a rescued Greyhound for 8 years. He was severely injured on the track while racing at Seabrook Greyhound Park in Seabrook, New Hampshire (which is now closed permanently). Once injured, and no longer a financial asset he was thrown into a cage, left for three days without treatment until the rescue group came along to save him. There was great expense involved with his rehabilitation, which the owner and the track refused to pay.
I must tell you that these are majestic animals with nothing but love in their hearts and to have your company use them once again for PROFIT is inexcusable.
Therefore I am asking you to cancel the ad, not just for the Super Bowl, but forever.
Please take this request seriously, as a consumer of your product, I will do everything in my power to have a negative impact on your company, if this ad should run. This is not an idle threat, there a many, many Greyhound lovers across the country that will willingly boycott your products. “
I did not write this letter but the Trudo family of Tucson did and gave me permission to use it. Hundreds of similar letters from across the country were written asking Skechers to retract their ad promoting dog racing. All letters and more than 114,000 Change.org petition signatures seem to have gone to deaf arrogant ears.
In the proposed Skechers ad, a French bulldog named Mr. Quiggly is seen wearing some Skechers shoes and races the greyhounds. Mercifully none fell and broke their legs and hocks during the filming of the ad. Most likely this French bulldog never had to eat RAW 4D meat from dead, dying, diseased, and downer animals. Most likely the French bulldog never lived in filthy conditions. Yes, dogs leaving TGP are diagnosed with E.coli and hookworms, loop worms, and Giardia. Mr. Quiggly may even be some exec’s pampered pet (shouldn’t they all be pampered?) and never had to race for his life like the thousands of greyhounds that still do in the U.S. and abroad. Most likely if Mr. Quiggly falls and breaks his leg or hock or shoulder; he won’t be euthanized nor will he have to sit in a dark cage and wait for some adoption group to save his life…if he’s lucky.
A peaceful protest against this ad will be held at:
3175 N. Campbell Avenue @ SW corner of Ft. Lowell & Campbell, Tucson
Saturday, January 28, 2012
11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Bring a sign or use an existing one.
Stand up against dog racing cruelty
If you live in Boston, San Francisco, Salt Lake City, New Mexico, Michigan, Florida, Portland, So. Calif, etc, there will be other Skechers protests too. Join in this weekend. Here’s the schedule. You need not have a beloved greyhound in your life to participate.
According to the Skechers press release …”will use humor to illustrate how SKECHERS now produces performance footwear that’s exceeding expectations and impressing runners and athletes everywhere.” Maybe that’s the case this year, but the shoes that Skechers previously promoted are now facing a class action lawsuit.
Well, at least the people who became injured while wearing the Skechers ShapeUp shoes were not euthanized.
