Pete Davidson’s clash with PETA: See why comedian bought the dog

Pete Davidson recently had a fierce war of words with the animal rights group, PETA after the comedian chose to buy a puppy rather than adopting from a shelter.

After mourning the death of his pet dog Henry recently, Davidson looked to bring home a dog to cheer up the grieving family. The actor bought a puppy at a New York City pet store and did not adopt from a shelter, media reports said.

The move was criticised by PETA's Senior VP of Cruelty Investigations, Daphna Nachminovitch.

On Twitter, PETA also posted a message on Wednesday (June 7), saying, “Puppies in pet stores are usually obtained from puppy mills—prisons where dogs & puppies are confined & denied everything natural to them. That’s partly why NY state BANNED the sale of puppies in pet shops. We’re asking everyone, including Pete Davidson, to adopt, don’t shop.”




In response, the American comedian left a profanity-laced voicemail message for Nachminovitch on Monday, as per reports.

“I’m only not allergic to cavapoos and those types of dogs and my mom’s dog, who’s two years old, died a week prior and we’re all so sad so I had to get a specific dog. So why don’t you do your research,” Pete Davidson said in the voicemail message.

To Davidson's voicemail, PETA responded and claimed that there's no such thing as a hypoallergenic dog. The organization pointed out that many purebred dogs are also found in shelters. It also mentioned online platforms, such as Petfinder, where homeless dogs of various breeds are listed.

Talking about the voicemail message, Davidson told TMZ that “I haven’t seen my mom and sister cry like that in over 20 years. I was trying to cheer up my family. It was a poor choice of words. I shouldn’t have said what I said, but I am not sorry for standing up for myself and my family.”

FAQs

Why was Pete Davidson criticized by PETA?
PETA has slammed Pete Davidson for buying a puppy rather than adopting from a shelter.

When did PETA start operations?
On March 22, 1980, PETA was started.