0
During filming for Lawless in Atlanta, Tom Hardy spotted a homeless dog running loose on the highway and sprang into action – catching him and calling him Woodstock and bringing him home to London.
Now, Hardy is encouraging people to find their own “biggest fan” and adopt a shelter dog with this ad for PETA.
“To me, a dog actually is the heart of a family in many ways, in life”, Hardy told New York magazine in the autumn. “A dog is important because its unconditional love is there… If a dog is there, and a dog is happy, then you know it’s a happy home.”
Not every dog is as lucky as Woody. Every year, hundreds of thousands of dogs and cats end up in UK animal shelters, and many of them have to be euthanised simply because there aren’t enough good homes.
Countless more end up on the street, where they may starve, freeze, get hit by cars or suffer from other abuses.
That’s why Hardy and PETA – whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to abuse in any way” – are encouraging caring people to adopt from local shelters and never buy from breeders or pet stores, which only exacerbate the homeless animal overpopulation crisis.
Hardy isn’t Woodstock’s only famous friend. Vegan actor and Lawless co-star Jessica Chastain was with Hardy when he found Woody, and her mom helped take care of him until he was cleared to be moved to the UK.
Tom Hardy is part of a growing list of celebrities – including Anjelica Huston, P!nk, Charlize Theron, Joaquin Phoenix, and Eva Mendes – who have teamed up with PETA to promote kindness to animals.
For more information, please visit PETA.org.uk.