Known for playing hard-ass character in shows like Breaking Bad and Sons of Anarchy, actor Danny Trejo decided to take on a more “fluffier” role. Literally.
In the latest PSA for animal advocacy organizationFriends of Animals Trejo plays a dog with a message urging more people to spay and neuter their pets.
The 90-second clip titled “Ruff Life” begins with Trejo locked up in an animal shelter, meant to look like a jail (he lets us know he has been in the slammer for three months, or 15 days in human time.)
“My mom spent most of her life in and out of this place,” he says. “My dad wasn’t so lucky. “He got hit by a drive-by when I was just a pup.” Trejo landed in the shelter after animal control found him, as a stray, wandering in the park. Once inside, Trejo tells viewers that in order to survive, he must befriend the “Canine Crips” and “Bloodhound Bloods.”
Besides following Trejo’s plight, the short also shows a hooker cat played by Victoria’s Secret model Cynthia Kirchner. (Jaleel White, who played Urkel in Family Matters, also has a cameo.)
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The video ends with the sobering message “more than 3 million dogs and cats will die in shelters this year.”
While the PSA does compare the dire circumstances of some people to animals locked away in shelters, Chris Breen, the creative director of Breensmith, the agency that created the announcement, hopes people realize the point of the video was to raise awareness for a problem that continues to be a huge issue despite educating the public about the importance of spaying and meeting pets.
“Hopefully people understand the intent and at the very least it makes them think of the issue in a new light,” he told Adweek. “At the end of the day, it’s a topic that kind of gets glanced over. We wanted to give Friends of Animals a platform to break the ice and wake people up to the seriousness of the issue without preaching or putting them to sleep.”
H/T Adweek
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