How Pete Davidson stepped in PETA's dog-breeder doodoo

The public feud over the ethics of dog breeders has enveloped a "Saturday Night Live" alum, after reports that Pete Davidson bought a cavapoo puppy from a pet store sparked a frenzy of criticism and judgment. The drama peaked this week with an expletive-laden voice mail Davidson allegedly left for an executive with the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, and a Times Square billboard attacking PETA for attacking the comedian.

The story began in a shroud of misfortune.

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In a short tribute that appeared online last month, Davidson shared that his family was grieving the loss of a "key member" - their 2-year-old cavapoo, Henry.

"My mom, sister and I got Henry at the beginning of the pandemic and he saved our lives," the comedian wrote in a message shared on Instagram by his friend Dave Sirus, because Davidson doesn't have his own public page. "Not sure id even be around without him. He was the happiest and sweetest dog ever."

The message was accompanied by a photo of Henry - a fluffy brown mix between a Cavalier King Charles spaniel and a poodle - wearing a tiny blue bandanna.

A month later, TMZ reported a cheery follow-up: "PETE DAVIDSON PICKS UP NEW PUP."

The June 1 article was accompanied by video credited to a Manhattan pet store, Citipups, that showed Davidson and his actress girlfriend Chase Sui Wonders ("Bodies Bodies Bodies") smiling and embracing at the cash register. A lounging black cat was the only visible animal, but TMZ reported that the couple had taken home a 2 1/2 -month-old cavapoo - a "new best friend."

"He didn't have a name, so Pete and Chase have a big decision to make," the tabloid wrote, and added, seemingly innocuously: "The puppy's not a rescue or anything . . . we're told it was from a breeder."

The video has since been taken down from Citipups' Instagram page, and the store has declined to comment on the matter. Mere hours after the video appeared on TMZ, tabloids and social media commenters pivoted from awwws to outrage. "Pete Davidson slammed for buying dog from pet store: 'Disgusting'," Page Six wrote.

Cavapoos shed minimally and are considered among pet owners to be a "designer" breed, which means they are intentionally crossbred from two purebred dogs.

The debate about whether it's ethical to buy dogs from pet stores - as opposed to adopting from a rescue shelter or saving a stray - has been raging for decades, fueled by reports of unsanitary, overcrowded "puppy mills" from which some pure breeds and crossbreeds originate.

In 1984, the Los Angeles organization Last Chance for Animals popularized the "Adopt, Don't Shop" slogan to raise awareness about the mistreatment of animals in puppy mills. Pet stores and breeders have since spent decades battling perceptions that it's more ethical to save a dog from euthanasia in a shelter.

Some argue - as Davidson himself did while outrage against him mounted this week - that choosing where to get a pet is a personal and sometimes difficult decision. Shelter pets may be less expensive than their store-bought counterparts and already have some training, but some prospective pet owners might prefer a certain breed, or not have the time to address extra needs that a rescue pet may require. Many breeders now advertise themselves as responsible and ethical, providing veterinary care and comfortable lives for puppies before they're purchased.

The reaction to Davidson's new cavapoo reflected this divide. "Leave Pete Davidson alone," became a refrain on Twitter this week, to counter tweets calling him a callous pet store patron.

But the anti-breeder movement has become quite powerful. California became the first state to bar pet stores from selling commercially bred animals in 2017 - though many cities already had similar laws. Maryland passed its own law the next year. And restrictions on sales of commercially bred dogs, cats and rabbits will go into effect in New York next year, meaning that if Davidson's new puppy came from a factory-scale breeder, he may be one of the last people in his state allowed to make such a purchase.

After the actor had been hounded for half a week by tsk-tskers, the famously combative animal rights organization PETA joined the dogpile.

Daphna Nachminovitch, a senior vice president at PETA, shamed him on Monday for buying from a pet store instead of adopting from one of many shelters "overflowing with homeless animals."

"It's tragic that Pete didn't seek out a borough-born mutt from a city animal shelter," Nachminovitch told TMZ, "because a scrappy New Yorker with charm, personality, and unconventional handsomeness could have been his perfect match."

PETA has its own history of offending people. Some animal activists have criticized the group for its shock-value publicity campaigns - it posted a fake YouTube video of cat abuse in 2017 - and its relatively radical perspective on animal rights - it has riled against "anti-animal" phrases such as "kill two birds with one stone" and "beat a dead horse." The organization has also been scrutinized for the high euthanasia rate at its Virginia animal shelter.

Davidson doesn't sound like a fan either. "PETE DAVIDSON LEAVES PETA UNHINGED VOICE MAIL," TMZ reported on day six of puppy-gate.

"Thank you so much for making comments publicly that I didn't adopt a dog," a man who sounds like Davidson says in a profanity-saturated voice mail left for Nachminovitch, which PETA shared with media outlets including The Washington Post. "I just want to let you know I'm severely allergic to dogs, so I have to get a specific breed. I'm only not allergic to cavapoos and those type of dogs. And my mom's [expletive] dog, who's 2 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 before you [expletive] create news stories for people because you're a boring tired [misogynistic expletive]." Then the voice mail become largely unprintable.

Two days later, a nonprofit called Center for Organizational Research and Education put up a billboard in Times Square: "PETA CAN'T HANDLE PETE'S BDE."

The ad explained that BDE stood for "Buy Dog Energy," and added, in case its stance wasn't clear, "PETA KILLS ANIMALS."

The pet-procuring storm shows no signs of abating, though some of the principal players have toned down their rhetoric, returning attention to the furry faces at the center of the storm.

"Our hearts go out to Pete and the rest of the Davidson family for the loss of their beloved dog, but there's no excuse for promoting the puppy mill industry by buying a dog from a pet store when millions of wonderful dogs await loving homes in animal shelters," PETA spokeswoman Moira Colley said Tuesday in a statement to The Washington Post.

"We know Pete cares about animals and was trying to do a nice thing for his family, but he has millions of impressionable fans and his choices matter," Colley continued. "So the next time he's ready to welcome an animal into the family, we hope he makes the compassionate choice to adopt, not buy."

Representatives for Davidson didn't respond to a request for comment. The actor told TMZ he's sorry for his choice of words during his tirade, but he doesn't regret defending himself and his family.

And he shared a few details about the family's newest member with Entertainment Tonight on Tuesday. "His name is Rodney Dangerfield," Davidson said. "I bought him a little red tie."

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