Animal charity hits out at Purplebricks advert which shows adorable puppy – but ‘misses serious point’

A dog rescue charity has hit out at a Purplebricks advert which shows a woman returning home to find her partner has cooked her a meal, and bought her flowers – and a puppy.

Gerry Green Dog Rescue, which has centres in Lincolnshire, Yorkshire, and Nottinghamshire, has written to Purplebricks to complain.

The charity earlier this year called for a ban on the sale of puppies through pet shops and other dealers.

Shelley Wilks, deputy CEO and head of welfare at Jerry Green Dog Rescue, said: “We understand the positive aspects of dog ownership and the power of using animals in advertising. We realise this is intended to be a light-hearted commercial but we feel that Purplebricks is sending out the wrong messages on this occasion.”

She added: “It’s clear that this is a humorous advert and ‘Pumpkin’ does look adorable but there is a serious point to be made about responsible dog ownership, especially when there are thousands of rescue dogs in charitable organisations such as ours who need to find loving homes.”

Ian Cawsey, chair of trustees at Jerry Green Dog Rescue, added: “ As a charity dedicated to the care, welfare and responsible rehoming of dogs, we hope that Purplebricks will consider the consequences of its advertising in promoting impulsive dog purchases and the work that this generates for rescue charities who are largely reliant on the generosity of public support to keep operating.

“I would urge anyone thinking about getting a dog to contact the team here at Jerry Green Dog Rescue before making the commitment.

“We may already have the perfect match for you and your family just waiting for a loving home, whether or not you found it through Purplebricks.”

Purplebricks declined to comment.

A reader tipped us off about this story, after he and his best friend left a puppy training session yesterday evening. Absolutely doggone true!

 

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18 Comments

  1. Leespoon

    i can only say LOL

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  2. Pollard36

    Whatever your views on PB may looklike, this does seem a touch much…

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    1. Leespoon

      Agree…. The adverts are laughable enough, without the PC brigade getting in on the act. “Apparently” they can do it all…. cough, cough… apparently…. 

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    2. The Blame Game

      Another Snow Flake latching on to every opportunity to become even more pious.

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  3. Chris Wood

    A Purplebricks loan agreement is for life, not just Christmas.

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  4. Mark Connelly

    We live in a world where people demand their right to be offended. How very tiresome. Imagine having to go home to one of these people every evening.

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  5. Property Paddy

    yeah ! PB bashing,

    loving it.

    PB share price £2.80

    Gravity still works then

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    1. PeeBee

      Gravity and the Eighteenth Law of Plumbing that states that you can only push 5h!t so far up a hill before it flows back down the pipe.

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  6. PeeBee

    Inclined to agree with the comments… however…

    If the Dog Lovers Society of Nowheresville can bring the #Purple_walls down around the Bruce Brothers and their hungry Legal Beagles (pun intended) then whilst I will know that the world as we knew it has gone completely barking (yet another pun intended) I will welcome their input like a long-lost brother knocking on my door.

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  7. CountryLass

    Are they assuming that the man brought the dog from a pet shop, or is it just that he brought home a surprise pet without consultation? I mean, we already know that as a couple they don’t think through small-print etc or they would have realised that not choosing PB was the right decision, so they obviously make good choices…

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    1. PeeBee

      Banging the mouse button like a demented Duracell bunny with the cursor hovering over the place that the ‘Like’ icon used to occupy…

      Report
      1. Retiredandrelaxed

        Yeah – where did they go?

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        1. jeremy1960

          Bring back the like button and maybe a dislike button!

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          1. PeeBee

            Nah – just tell me you don’t like my comments – and why, jeremy1960. ;o)

            I’d rather debate the issue than wonder.

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      2. CountryLass

        I wondered where the buttons went too!

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        1. Rosalind Renshaw

          We apologise but we have had to disable the like and dislike buttons, but only while some gremlins on the site are sorted out. This will be temporary and the buttons will be back!

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          1. Ostrich17

            Perhaps you could replace them with a suitable selection of Emojis ? 😉

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  8. Property Paddy

    yep

    missing the buttons here too.

    I miss my dislikes, they are like a warming blanket, the more I get the warmer I get.

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