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Get
your
Chain Off 2007 Attire!
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Barbi
Cole Chained
to crate in yard, woman says By
Alice Mannette/staff STUARTS DRAFT — A Stuarts Draft mother chained herself to a dog crate in front of her Stuart Avenue home on Sunday. Barbie Cole, a pet rescuer, wants people to know that keeping a dog on a chain for a long period of time is inhumane. This is part of a nationwide campaign for Dogs Deserve Better, a non-profit organization. Cole spent 12 hours on her lawn Sunday. She handed out fliers from both Dogs Deserve Better and Mid-Atlantic Pug Rescue — she is a member of both organizations. Dogs Deserve Better, which started in 2002, works to end the chaining of dogs. From June 30 through July 8, more than 99 members in 32 states will chain themselves to an object, a press release from the organization stated. Some, like Cole, will do this for 12 hours, others will remain in one location all day and night. Cole's husband and two children, Mikey, 8, and Dylan, 5, were taking care of the family's rescued animals — two dogs, four rescued puppies, awaiting transport to their new homes, and one cat — while Cole sat outside staring at butterflies she could not chase and watching and conversing with passersby. "Most people see a chained dog and they ignore it. We're hoping to get legislation through in Virginia," Cole said. "In California no dog can be chained longer than three hours. I'd like to see no dogs with chains nationwide."
By
MICHAEL L. OWENS STUARTS DRAFT - Barbi Cole seemed a little sad chained to her doghouse Sunday morning. That’s right - chained to her doghouse. Curiosity forced the Stuarts Draft woman to experience life as the furry brethren - stuck in a single spot all day, every day. “I’ve always had compassion for chained dogs,” she said. Similar protests were to play out nationwide Sunday as part of an annual campaign spotlighting the lonely, depressing life of a chained dog. Animal rights activists hope dog owners will ditch the chain and instead bring their pets inside or throw a fence around the yard. They also argue that chains transform an otherwise friendly dog into an aggressive nightmare. Some states and localities have bought into the theory. Virginia Beach forbids owners from keeping dogs chained for more than three hours in any 24-hour period. Smithfield bans chaining overnight and for more than eight hours during the day. There are no such laws in Waynesboro, Staunton or Augusta County. So, underneath a shady tree on her Stuart Avenue lawn sat Cole, with a chain linking the collar around her neck to a plastic doghouse. Her doghouse was actually a travel carrier for large canines, but she thought it was good enough to get the point across. “Would Jesus chain his dog?” read a cutout on the side. Tammy Grimes, founder of Dogs Deserve Better, an anti-chain group, brainstormed the protest five years ago as an annual campaign for the week of July 4. By Sunday afternoon, the group founder had sweated in the humid Atlanta sun for more than a day next to her doghouse. Grimes, flanked by other activists, picked a spot next to a leash-free dog park. She hoped “people would see how inhumane it is for us to live that way and by extension to see how inhumane it is for a dog to live that way,” she said by telephone. Locally, the campaign will pick up Saturday with animal welfare groups clamping on chains in Staunton near Wright’s Dairy Rite on Greenville Avenue. Cole’s plan was to stay on her front lawn from 10 a.m. until 10 p.m., not counting the occasional calls from nature that would chase her inside for a brief spell. Five-year-old daughter, Dylan, thought it was a pretty nifty idea. She even cut out the paper stars taped to the doghouse. The girl joined mom on the lawn for a lunchtime sandwich and chips. Of course, Dylan admitted her dolls eventually would call her back inside the house for some serious playtime. Cole, asked what she thought about chains now that she has one around her neck, replied: “You’d become aggressive. You’d become a problem.” Contact Michael L. Owens at mowens@newsvirginian.com.
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