Edie Falco has had it with puppy mills and the pet shops who do business with them.
The “Sopranos” star appears in a video for the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals asking New Jerseyans to support a bill in the state Legislature that would ban the sale of dogs at pet shops.
The bill, sponsored by state Sen. Brian Stack and state Sen. Raj Mukherji, would prohibit the sale of dogs, cats and rabbits at pet shops.
New York state banned the sale of dogs, cats and rabbits in 2022 with a law that took effect this year.
“Before I adopted my beloved dog Sami, she lived in cardboard box in a breeding facility,” Falco, 61, says in the video. “She was in a basement in the dark. She didn’t have a name, she didn’t see a vet when she was in pain or sick. She wasn’t a pet. Her one job was to produce puppies. Thankfully, Sami was rescued and I was able to spend 12 glorious, love-filled years with her.”
Falco, who won three Emmys for playing Carmela Soprano in “The Sopranos,” uses Sami’s example to make the case for shutting down pet store sales of dogs, cats and rabbits.
“As we speak, there are hundreds of thousands of dogs trapped in puppy mills just like Sami was, and their puppies are sent to New Jersey pet stores,” she says in the clip, directing viewers to aspca.org/njpuppies where they can fill out a form sending support for the bill to lawmakers.
The ASPCA shared the video for the recent Puppy Mill Awareness Day (Sept. 21).
Falco’s animal advocacy has included an ad released ahead of this year’s Super Bowl for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals.
The PETA spot saw men break into Falco’s home and steal her cheese. (In real life, the actor is vegan.)
“Please, don’t take my cheese away!” a distressed Falco begged them.
The ad then cut to a cow chasing after its calf, which was being driven away in a truck.
The point: “Cheese isn’t your baby. But it robs a mother of hers.”
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Amy Kuperinsky may be reached at akuperinsky@njadvancemedia.com and followed at @AmyKup.
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