Olivia Bowen Warns About Dangers of Buying a Flat-Faced Dog
“Every single day was a struggle for him.” That’s how Love Island star Olivia Bowen describes the suffering endured by her French bulldog, Reggie. In an emotional new video for PETA, she shares the devastating health problems he faced due to being purposefully bred to have extreme, distorted features. Admitting, “I don’t think we’ll ever not feel guilty,” she urges viewers to adopt instead of buying from breeders.
“My little baby boy Reggie, he sadly passed away, but he was a French bulldog who, like so many others, suffered from brachycephalic obstructive airway syndrome. He struggled to breathe. He got to about two or three, which is just so young, he couldn’t go for walks for a very long time. He was sick a lot.”
– Olivia Bowen
Breathing-Impaired Breeds Face Painful Disabilities
Breathing-impaired breeds (BIBs) – including French bulldogs, English bulldogs, Boston terriers, pugs, and boxers – often face painful disabilities and premature death because humans have bred them to have life-threatening deformities for purely aesthetic reasons.
A study published in Nature found that French bulldogs have the shortest life expectancy of any breed studied, at just 4.5 years, and the Royal Veterinary College found that they’re 30 times more likely to have brachycephalic obstructive airway syndrome.
Adopt, Don’t Shop
Breeding any dog also contributes to the companion animal overpopulation crisis by bringing more puppies into a world already bursting at the seams with homeless animals.
Bowen, who purchased Reggie before she was aware that French bulldogs’ extreme features are “completely unnatural,” says she is “super invested in raising awareness” of how flat-faced breeds suffer and will “absolute hands down” be adopting her next canine companion from a rescue centre instead of buying from a breeder.
“Please join me,” Bowen says. “Because breeders will only stop churning out dogs with extremely flat faces and other painful deformities when people stop buying them.”
If you’re looking to welcome an animal into your home, always adopt – don’t shop.
