The downtown lunch crowd might be surprised tomorrow, when they find a giant inflatable puppy dog on a bun staring into their eyes. The stunt is part of a campaign by Mercy For Animals and local animal-rights activists that asks the question: "Why love one, but eat the other?"

"We'll be urging the lunchtime crowd to question why we call some animals pets and others dinner," says Mercy for Animals national campaign coordinator Jeni Haines. "The truth is farm animals experience pain and suffering the same way as dogs and cats. So our message is that we can all boycott this cruelty by adopting a vegetarian lifestyle and diet."

See also: The vegetarian (and vegan) sandwich selection at Half Fast Subs is dizzying

Mercy For Animals is a national non-profit that travels the country holding demonstrations like this that encourage people to question how their lifestyles can impact animal's lives. They also conduct undercover investigations of factory farms.

"Not a single federal law provides protection for animals raised for food during their miserable lives, where they are intensively confined, mutilated and brutally slaughtered," explains Haines. "We have the right to know where our food is coming from and how the animals are treated, so that we can make informed choices."

The group plans to be on the corner of 14th and Larimer Street -- that's right by Tamayo and Ted's Montana Grill -- between 10:30 a.m. and noon on November 8, complete with blow-up puppy. For more information, go to the event's Facebook page.

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