Actress Amy Jackson, who is currently busy shooting for Shankar’s magnum opus, Ai, has a new avatar — that of a rescuer of animals. Yes, the Madrasapattinam star has teamed up with People for Ethical Treatment of Animals, (PETA) India, for a campaign that encourages people to share their homes with abandoned and homeless cats and dogs. In the ad campaign designed by the organisation, she appears as an angel, holding Alfie, whom she rescued. The ad reads ‘Be an angel for animals. Don’t buy. Adopt.” The actress, who made her debut in the Tamil film industry and subsequently went on to Bollywood to star in Ek Deewana Tha, has been a long-time animal rights supporter and often speaks out on social-networking forums about issues such as animal adoptions and rescues horses used to draw carriages.
Alfie, the cat who Amy rescued, was merely six weeks old when she found him, abandoned on the side of the road, with a box of four other kittens. Out of the five, only Alfie and another kitten, which was named Frankie, survived. Amy’s sister adopted Frankie.
Speaking about her love for animals and why people should adopt pets and not buy them, Amy said, “Every time someone buys a cat or a dog from a breeder or a pet shop, a cat on the streets or in an animal shelter loses his or her chance of finding a good home. We can stop the cycle of animal homelessness and save lives by opening our hearts and homes to a loving cat or dog from an animal shelter instead of buying animals from breeders or pet shops.”
