Buster the Boxer delivers holiday message for wildlife support

/1 Comment/in , , /by

Every year, John Lewis, a British retail company that’s known for its incredibly touching series of Christmas advertisements, chooses a charity aimed at raising money and awareness. This year Buster the Boxer helps to deliver his campaign urging more children and their parents to discover the love of British wildlife and support the The Wildlife Trusts. 

The two-minute video features an adorable little girl named Bridget and her five-year-old dog Biff (played by Buster the Boxer of course). Bridget is all excited as she waits impatiently for the next day – Christmas. Meanwhile her parents have purchased a trampoline for her and hide it in the garden to surprise her in the morning. And in the delightful world of magical events on Christmas Eve, Buster watches a cast of wildlife emerge from the nearby woods and frolic on the trampoline.baxter-the-boxer-2

As Christmas morning comes about, Bridget runs out to the garden to find her present, but Buster runs out ahead of her – jumps onto the trampoline and starts bouncing. Bridget just watches in complete surprise and utter delight!

According to John Lewis, the hope of the advertisement was to make people smile as they think of having given the perfect Christmas gift, however the response has become polarized. According to the Guardian,  Simon Cowell, chief executive of The Wildlife Aid Foundation, described wildlife and pets being killed or injured by netting used in gardens as “a massive, massive problem.”

“We go out to tens if not hundreds of incidents each year where fruit nets, football nets and other garden netting has killed or injured foxes, deer, badgers and owls. We have been out to a fox that was stuck on a trampoline. Now we are bound to get some idiotic parent or child who will put their pet on the trampoline and get them to bounce up and down.”

Then again the videos in the past have had a long history of cute anthropomorphism.

The Wildlife Trusts’ backing for the video might be expected because they receive ten percent of the retail price of the advertisement’s soft toys, but the Badger Trust and Brian May’s Save Me Trust are also benefiting. See what you think:

(Photos of Buster the Boxer via YouTube video)

Follow the Pet Rescue Report on Facebook.

‘A Dog’s Purpose’: Reincarnated dog story brings happy tears to our eyes

/1 Comment/in , , , /by

On Friday, the trailer of the new movie, “A Dog’s Purpose” hit the Internet hard, leaving most dog lovers with an emotional lump in their throats that touches us to the deepest depths of our hearts.A Dog's Purpose

The movie stars Josh Gad, who is the main character and voice of a dog reincarnated at least four times – each time with a different purpose and a different human companion, but each time equally as profound and emotional. And each time the dog seeks “his purpose in life” and life’s most basic question: “Why are we here?” And as the movie trailer just happened to have been released on National Dog Day, we wonder if that was all planned?

At the beginning of the story, it’s about a dog and a little boy. During his numerous lifetimes, his humans named him Toby, Bailey, Ellie, Bear and Buddy. At one point he notes, “If I can get you licking and loving, I have my purpose.” And if that isn’t enough, the end of the movie reunites the soul of Bailey with his original human – now all grown up and wondering could it really be?

The movie is based on W. Bruce Cameron’s book and includes stars as Dennis Quaid, Britt Robertson and Luke Kirby. The movie is set to be released on January 27, 2017.

Take a look at the trailer – it explains a lot. Bring your tissues!

(Photo and video Universal Pictures)