PETA Forced To Pay $49,000 In Damages After Euthanizing 9-Year-Old’s Dog

​Despite constant virtue signaling and self-righteousness, the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals has a sordid history when it comes to euthanizing our furry friends. The organization, whose sole purpose is supposedly furthering animal rights, sank to new lows in 2014 when workers accidentally abducted and killed Maya, a 9-year-old child’s pet Chihuahua. Maya was put down shortly after she was taken from the mobile home park where her owner, Cynthia Zarate, and the young girl’s parents lived.

According to The Telegraph, “Two people affiliated with the group travelled to the mobile home park because they said they had been asked for help picking up wild dogs and feral cats.” At the time, Maya’s family was not with her, so it’s reasonable to think PETA members were doing what they thought was right.

That all changed though, when the supreme champions of animal rights at PETA chose to put the Chihuahua down the very same day they picked her up. In Virginia, where the incident took place, state law prohibits euthanasia within five days of the animal’s capture. That law exists expressly for situations like this. When animals run away (or in this case are abducted), the pet and its owner deserve the opportunity to find each other again. The Zarates would almost certainly have been able to track down their dog had PETA followed the rules; and Maya likely could have been saved.

PETA was fined $500 for violating the law, and has now settled a lawsuit filed by the Zarates for an additional $49,000. According to the New York Daily News, in a joint statement the parties said the following:

PETA again apologizes and expresses its regrets to the Zarate family for the loss of their dog Maya. Mr. Zarate acknowledges that this was an unfortunate mistake by PETA and the individuals involved, with no ill-will toward the Zarate family.

Well it’s good to know that PETA did not abduct Maya to purposely torment the Zarate family. But PETA’s enthusiasm toward killing animals has received attention before. In 2013, The Huffington Post published a scathing article that claimed that of the 2,000 animals that were “saved” by PETA in 2011, 96% were euthanized. According to the same article, “in 2012, they impounded 1,110 cats. 1,045 were put to death.”

So the next time you and your children are forced to watch PETA members, dressed up as animals or naked, or as naked animals, making fools of themselves and touting their unearned moral superiority in your local Chick-fil-A, feel free to remind them of Cynthia Zarate and her puppy Maya.

Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to go hug my dog.

Tyler Dahnke is a father, husband and wine enthusiast who’s doing his best to make sense of today’s insane political landscape. You can follow him on Twitter @tylerdahnke.