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Get
your
Chain Off 2007 Attire!
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Rebecca
Schneider
East Valley Tribune article, and pasted below in case the link no longer works: Woman to tie self in yard for 16 hours to combat chaining I
June 28, 2007 Rebecca Schneider of Mesa can escape the sun on her concrete porch or under the acacia tree in her front yard. But she isn’t drooling over either option as she will be chained in her front yard for 16 hours this Fourth of July, when most neighbors will be grilling hot dogs and drinking beer. “It’s going to be god-awful,” Schneider said as she surveyed the area Tuesday afternoon in the 110-degree heat. “But I asked for it.” Schneider is one of 104 participants nationwide and in Canada who will chain themselves starting Saturday as part of the Chain Off 2007 event by the nonprofit group, Dogs Deserve Better. Organizers hope the demonstration will cause dog owners to think twice before they leave their unaccompanied pets chained outside this summer. This is the fifth year Pennsylvania-based founder Tammy Grimes has organized the awareness campaign about a practice she calls one of the worst forms of animal abuse. “We’re absolutely against unaccompanied chaining,” said Grimes, 43. “If you can keep an eye on the dog, it’s OK.” A freelance graphics designer, Grimes grew up seeing a beagle on their farm chained near a barn. She said it never occurred to her as a child to advocate for the pet. “I pitied her,” she said. “But in those days, kids didn’t have too much control.” After seeing a neighbor’s dog chained for six years, she formed Dogs Deserve Better in 2002. Schneider, who came across the group’s Web site last month, had nearly reported her former neighbor last year to authorities when she saw their dog chained nearly all day, every day. The librarian at Arizona State University said she plans to take her body temperature every hour and keep track of how much water she’ll consume throughout the 5 a.m. to 9 p.m. exercise. “Most people don’t realize just how high the body temperature can go up in the heat outside,” she said. “And that’s without any fur on them.” As she talked, she petted Scruffy, her 2-year-old black Shih Tzu — much to the annoyance of Buddy, her year-old Chihuahua-Dachshund mix, who yelped behind her. Schneider said many dogs in her Mesa neighborhood are chained for hours, and they can get hot even while sitting in the shade. “People think a bowl of water is enough for them all day,” Schneider said. “But it simply isn’t.”
Activist hopes chaining spotlights dogs' plight JJ
Hensley MESA - Many Arizonans spent the Fourth of July with friends and family, at cookouts, holiday celebrations or the movies. Rebecca Schneider spent hers tied to a tree. The demonstration was an attempt to bring attention to the plight of dogs chained outside, particularly during Arizona's summer months. It was 104 degrees at 10 a.m. Wednesday, as Schneider embarked on her fifth hour tethered to a tree in her front yard. "No matter what time of day I go outside, I always hear dogs in people's backyards," said Schneider, who added that it never occurred to her that the practice could be abusive until she got involved with the group Dogs Deserve Better. The group had 99 people staging similar protests in 32 states around the country Wednesday. "I certainly didn't expect this to be the hottest day of the year," Schneider said. She planned on drinking a lot more than a dog would have the chance to lap up during the course of a day. "People need to understand that living outside on a bowl of water is not adequate," she said. In fact, that bowl of water is not adequate in the state's eyes if it's not in the shade. State law requires chained animals to have access to shade and water, and that water can't be broiling in the summer sun, said Sam Spinelle of the Arizona Animal Welfare League. The dangers of leaving a pet outside can sometimes come as a shock to Midwesterners who've made the move to the desert, Spinelle said. "A lot of folks think, 'Well, they can regulate their temperature.' The reality is that dogs don't do a good job of it, particularly when you look at different breeds. Some of your heavy coated animals, while to a certain extent it can help them keep cool, once you go over a certain temperature, that's not really working anymore, they're just hot," Spinelle said. "Sometimes it is just a culture change . . . that they were in a colder place and most of the year it's fine to have them outside. Everyone was fine and maybe they did make sure there was plenty of interaction, so that wasn't an issue, but our summers are just brutal." Dogs are also social animals, Spinelle said, and need to be around other pets and people to be properly socialized. Those concerns are what led Tempe resident and author Debra White to join forces with AAWL and the Phoenix Animal Care Coalition and start Breaking the Chain, an art and storytelling contest that aims to increase awareness of animal neglect and abuse among local school children. "I just hate to see dogs on chains. If you're going to keep a dog outside on the chain, why have a dog?" asked White, who's volunteered with animal protection agencies in Maricopa County since 1997. "I've seen dogs come into county where the chains have grown into their neck. It's just a horrible situation all the way around. It's bad for dogs, it's bad for kids and you can't adopt them." Such horror stories are what prompted Schneider to live life as a dog on the hottest day of the year to date, and while she was uncomfortable, Schneider said the stunt was worth it if she could bring more attention to the plight of animals left outside. And Schneider didn't really mind being uncomfortable; it's a daily sacrifice she makes to spend time with her two dogs, Scruffy and Buddy. "I'm very allergic. I take two medicines a day to be able to have the dogs," Schneider said. "But they're the joy of my life."
I was interviewed on television and that aired several times during the day. Two different newspapers ran stories. I was on radio twice and a local magazine did an article as well. All in all, pretty successful...A BIG thank you to Monica for contacting everyone!! I'm enclosing some pictures (of the deterioration) and a brief synopsis of my day. I did it here, obviously, to particularly draw attention to dogs and other animals left outside in the extreme heat of Arizona. The week prior to the event, 6 dogs died in a single day because of the heat. Since my event was on the hottest day of the year, it certainly brought that point home!! Additionally, most people here believe that leaving a dog loose all day in their fenced back yard is fine, with a porch or shade and a bowl of water. During my event, it was 117 degrees in the SHADE at my house and I drank well over a gallon and a half of water throughout the day: a bowl simply doesn't cut it. I have to say that the hardest hours were between 5-7pm. By then, the hottest part of the day had passed by, but I was bored simple-minded and just over it by then. I was actually hotter then, too. My body temp went up to about 102, but I kept it down because my water was cold to cool pretty much all day. I read 2 books (thank god for libraries!) and chatted with folks passing by. A couple neighbors even brought me snacks - thank god, since my roommate ignored me all day! I really DID feel like one of the dogs! I don't blame dogs for hating being chained or left alone as they can't read. I can't imagine having that little amusement or space day in and day out. No wonder they get mean if chained too long! I did end up with a rash on my arms, legs and neck, but it went away by morning...a combination of allergies and heat, I think. —Rebecca
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