Activists Hound Disney Over ‘102 Dalmatians’

A handful of animal advocates stood in front of Walt Disney Studios in Burbank on Monday, demanding that the entertainment giant do something about the overpopulation of Dalmatians they believe was promoted by the movie “101 Dalmatians.”

Accompanied by seven Dalmatians they said had been rescued from shelters, the advocates said they fear that the movie’s sequel, “102 Dalmatians,” scheduled to be released in November, will cause another increase in the number of Dalmatians that end up at shelters and are euthanized.

“There’s been a proliferation of Dalmatians at shelters because many breeders bred more because of the movie,” said protester Ann Herrington, president of Media Partners for Pets, a Las Vegas nonprofit organization that rescues animals. “We need to stop people from breeding now, before the next movie is out.”

Neither the Los Angeles Department of Animal Services nor the county’s Department of Animal Control keeps statistics on specific breeds, but spokesmen at both agencies said there was a definite increase in the number of unwanted Dalmatians after the 1996 release of “101 Dalmatians.”

“The same thing happened with Chihuahuas after the Taco Bell commercial,” said Bob Ballenger, a spokesman for the county agency.

Jackie David, a spokeswoman for the Department of Animal Services, said, “People bought [puppies] and realized they weren’t going to stay the cute little puppies they were when they got them. So a lot of them ended up at shelters. Many of them were euthanized.”

Disney spokeswoman Andrea Marozas said the studio had no comment. But in a written statement Monday, Disney announced its partnership with the Dalmatian Club of America to promote pet adoption and education in conjunction with the upcoming release of “102 Dalmatians.”

Representing 1,200 Dalmatian breeders and owners nationally, the club also runs rescue operations throughout the country and has a Web site that offers information about the breed.

“Disney approached us in early August about getting the word out about responsible pet ownership,” said club spokeswoman Julie Lux. “Among the things Disney proposed was to link the ‘101 Dalmatians’ site to the DCA site.”

But for some, that isn’t enough. “I wish they’d just stop making movies that continually perpetuate this,” Herrington said.