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Paul McCartney Pens Letter Urging Texas Business to Provide Proper Care for Mistreated Dogs
by Caitlin Kelley
10/10/2017
Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images
Founding member of the rock and roll band 'The Beatles', Paul McCartney, fronts his next band 'Wings' in May 1976 in Los Angeles, California.
"I have had dogs since I was a boy and loved them all dearly, including Martha who was my companion for about 15 years and about whom I wrote the song 'Martha, My Dear.'"
Paul McCartney has joined forces with PETA to petition to the parent company of The Pet Blood Bank’s distributor, Patterson Veterinary Supply, to provide proper care for some 150 greyhounds living in squalor in dirt-floored pens. On Tuesday (Oct. 10), the former Beatle penned a letter appealing for better treatment of the animals.
"I join my friends at PETA in asking you to pay these greyhounds back, and to let them retire from the dirt-floored, barren conditions in which they are kept isolated and alone, some of them cringing at the footfall of the person coming to take their blood again and again," McCartney wrote. "They had a hard life on the racetrack, and they will die without love if left where they are. I've seen pictures of how they have suffered from nails that have grown back into their paw pads, as well as from infected gums and rotted teeth, and I'm told that some have apparently even died from a lack of water."
The Pet Blood Bank provides canine blood products for veterinary transfusions across the country. It began in 2004 initially seeking volunteers and using a bloodmobile, but that did not bring in enough blood and the company turned to retired greyhounds it houses in a kennel on a private farm outside Austin, Texas.
Following an exposé by PETA and coverage by the Washington Post last month that detail shocking conditions with photos showing the greyhounds in bad shape with overgrown nails, emaciated figures and tartar-filled teeth, The Pet Blood Bank, Inc. had promised to ensure the dogs' care, according to a PETA spokesperson, but reneged on that pledge. That prompted McCartney to write his letter to parent company Patterson Companies CEO James Wiltz.
"I have had dogs since I was a boy and loved them all dearly, including Martha who was my companion for about 15 years and about whom I wrote the song 'Martha, My Dear,'" wrote McCartney about the classic Beatles track. “I'm sure you know that dogs need affection and comfort—a bed to lie on, warmth in the winter, the opportunity to run and play, and just like you and me, they crave happiness and companionship.”
McCartney has been a longtime supporter of PETA, participating in interviews on the animal rights organization’s website and featuring in pro-vegetarian ads.
Read his full letter here:
Dear Mr. Wiltz,
I am writing to appeal to you to step up, make good on your earlier pledge, and rescue the dogs whose blood your company has used for many years, knowing that these 150 or so dogs—who were allowed to get into appalling shape and who are now kept in a-mileless-than-ideal conditions—helped your business at a cost to their wellbeing.
I have had dogs since I was a boy and loved them all dearly, including Martha who was my companion for about 15 years and about whom I wrote the song "Martha, My Dear." I'm sure you know that dogs need affection and comfort—a bed to lie on, warmth in the winter, the opportunity to run and play, and just like you and me, they crave happiness and companionship.
I join my friends at PETA in asking you to pay these greyhounds back, and to let them retire from the dirt-floored, barren conditions in which they are kept isolated and alone, some of them cringing at the footfall of the person coming to take their blood again and again. They had a hard life on the racetrack, and they will die without love if left where they are. I've seen pictures of how they have suffered from nails that have grown back into their paw pads, as well as from infected gums and rotted teeth, and I'm told that some have apparently even died from a lack of water.
Good people, professional greyhound rescuers, are standing by to place these dogs in good homes and to transport them to those homes at no cost to anyone. Please do the right thing and win the support of all kind veterinarians and all kind souls the whole world over.
I look forward to hearing from you.
Sincerely,
Sir Paul McCartney
www.peta.org
Paul McCartney Pushes for Release of Greyhounds From a Dog Blood Farm
Written by Michelle Kretzer
PETA / BLOG
October 10, 2017
Paul McCartney is on a mission: After a PETA exposé revealed 150 or so greyhounds suffering in squalor at a Texas outfit called The Pet Blood Bank, Inc., the company that distributed its blood products (Patterson Veterinary Supply, Inc.) pledged to support efforts to ensure the dogs’ care. But less than a week later, the company reneged on the pledge, prompting McCartney to send a letter on PETA’s behalf today calling on Patterson’s billion-dollar parent company to step up and help rescue the dogs.
“I have had dogs since I was a boy and loved them all dearly, including Martha who was my companion for about 15 years and about whom I wrote the song ‘Martha, My Dear,'” writes McCartney. “I join my friends at PETA in asking you to pay these greyhounds back, and to let them retire from the dirt-floored, barren conditions in which they are kept isolated and alone.”
PETA exposed that dogs at The Pet Blood Bank were denied veterinary care for severe oral infections, painful and infected wounds, an apparent broken leg, and other health issues. Most canines at the facility are solitarily confined to barren kennels, in which they display severe stress-induced behavior patterns, including pacing, spinning in circles, cowering, and even urinating on themselves in fear when approached.
Since PETA’s exposé was published online and in The Washington Post, more than 110,000 people have urged Patterson to use its resources to secure lifetime care for the dogs, and a mobile billboard has appeared outside the company’s Minnesota headquarters.
Here is McCartney’s letter to Patterson Companies CEO James Wiltz:
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