the chain gang

There is now a non-profit volunteer group that’s doing their best to get people to stop chaining their dogs. The Coalition to Unchain Dogs based in Durham, North Carolina provides fences, spaying, neutering and vaccinations all at no charge. Visit their web site for more information. You can even sponsor a fence for a dog if you wish :-)

Have you ever seen some of those pet shows on the Animal Planet tv station such as Animal Cops Houston, New York, Philly and other cities across the U.S.? Until I started watching these shows I had absolutely no idea just how severe the neglect and cruelty towards animals is in our society. Are there words worse than horrific? I’d say these shows would be good for kids to watch because it shows people saving animals. On the other hand, some episodes are liable to give small children nightmares. Heck, they about give me nightmares!

One of the most horrifying things people do to their dogs seems to be to put a chain around the dog’s neck when it’s a puppy and then tie it outside where maybe once in awhile they’ll feed it or visit it or give it some water. Now as if that’s not bad enough, this puppy is growing up into an adult dog with the same size chain still wrapped around it’s neck. Chains don’t give, so instead they grow into and embed in the dog’s neck. Some even use chains that remind me of logging chains, the links are huge, much bigger than they need to be and they can be very heavy. Think of the pain even a paper cut gives to a human. Now imagine a chain embedded around your neck leaving the wound open where it can become not only infected but infested with bugs and dirt. The chain becomes rusty, caked and gooey with the dog’s blood. I cannot even imagine how painful this must be for these dogs!

That just covers some of the more severe physical problems chaining a dog can have. Dogs are social animals, they need their people to be happy and mentally healthy. There are plenty of reasons to not chain a dog!