Back in the day, when Mötley Crüe rolled into town, it wasn’t unusual to hear about their rowdy antics. But these days the group — whose original members are all in their early to mid-60s — are more likely to bring their pups on the road than toss TVs out of windows.
The proof is in newest member guitarist John 5’s campaign promoting pet adoption in collaboration with PETA, which the non-profit organization is sharing with Billboard first.
In a video starring John’s adorable adopted hairless Chinese crested mix rescue Churro, the rocker strikes a series of poses with the so-ugly-he’s-adorable dog, whose spiky mohawk looks like a rock-star affectation, but is actually all natural. “It just sticks up like that,” John says in the 90-second clip in which he tells the tale of how Churro was found near death in a box in the San Bernardino desert.
“If was in there a few more hours he wouldn’t have made it,” John continues. “It’s heartbreaking to even think about. We had to get Churro — there were no ifs, ands, or buts. We were lucky enough to adopt him, and he’s just the best … We literally can’t go anywhere without him — he’s always with us. He’s just a part of the family.”
These days, John tells Billboard, it’s Churro who rips things up when the band hits the road. “When we’re on tour, it’s really a lot of fun. [Singer] Vince [Neil] has dogs, [drummer] Tommy [Lee] and [wife] Brittany [Furlan] have dogs, and now we’re bringing Churro,” he says. “It’s like a non-stop party after the show. Speaking of trashing hotel rooms, these [dogs] are the ones that do it.”
The campaign video is part of a push to urge animal lovers to adopt dogs and cats from shelters and to never buy animals from pet shops or breeders, “which churn out litter-after-litter of puppies and kittens into a world already bursting at the seams with homeless ones,” according to PETA. The organization also notes that there are around 70 million homeless dogs and cats in the U.S. at any given time.
PETA shared in a press release that Churro’s story highlights the fact that “virtually any breed of dog can be found in a shelter or through a breed-specific rescue group,” warning that some shelters have policies they say warehouse dogs for months, or years while turning away some animals, leaving the most vulnerable ones with nowhere to go. “That’s why PETA urges shelters to accept all animals in need, advises guardians to have their animal companions spayed or neutered, and asks everyone to adopt animals instead of buying them from breeders or pet stores.”
“It’s so important to adopt, because you see these helpless animals in there and they just want to be loved,” John 5 says in the video. “You can see it in their face. When you adopt, it will enrich your life so much.”
The guitarist joins other celebrities who’ve teamed with PETA to promote pet adoption in the past, including John Stamos, Kathy Griffin, Ron Perlman, Tom Hardy and Cristin Milloti, among others.
John 5 will launch his 2024 Strung Out solo tour on Sunday (Sept. 1) at City Winery in Boston, and he appears on the Crüe’s upcoming Cancelled EP (out Oct. 4), which features the band’s amped-up cover of the Beastie Boys’ “Fight for Your Right.”
Watch John 5’s “Adopt! Never Buy” video below.