The lonely dog sitting on a patch of frozen dirt in the bitter cold with a heavy chain pulling at his or her neck isn’t enjoying life—that dog is miserable! Just as you or I would be if we were left out in the freezing cold and snow all winter. It absolutely kills me when I hear people say about Fido, “He’s an outside dog,” “He’s used to it,” or “He likes it outside”—or even “He’s never known any better, so he’s just fine.” Winter is a long, cruel test of endurance for many dogs whose owners can’t be bothered to provide adequate shelter to protect them from nature’s harshest elements. Dogs suffer in silence because they have no choice. But we do have a choice. Many of these neglected dogs would be helped enormously if only they had a guardian angel—an angel who would bring them the minimal comfort of a sturdy, weatherproof doghouse.

Well, it turns out to be quite easy to be just such an angel! All you have to do to help a dog through the bitter cold, rain, sleet, and snow is support PETA’s “Angels for Animals”  program. For a lonely dog facing the winter outside in the cold, your generosity can make a world of difference.

Since the “Angels for Animals” program’s inception, PETA fieldworkers have delivered thousands of doghouses to needy dogs! This is the first real shelter that most of these dogs have ever had.

PETA’s Community Animal Project fieldworkers go into some of the most impoverished areas in Virginia and North Carolina to help improve the lonely lives of dogs who are in desperate need. We always try to convince guardians to let their dogs live indoors, but most have always had “outdoor dogs” and just cannot be persuaded. In the low-income, rural areas we visit, laws are often weak and/or simply not enforced. So most of the time, we are left with improving the dogs’ day-to-day lives. And nothing makes a bigger difference in these dogs’ lives than having their very own weatherproof doghouse to keep them sheltered and dry in the winter and provide them with shade from the oppressive heat of summer.

With temperatures dropping fast, there are far too many dogs who need an angel like you right now!

I can think of no better feeling this holiday season than the one that comes from improving the life of a needy animal, can you?