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Chain Off 2010 RESULTS
Freedom for Chained Dogs

Ever since the first time Tami chained herself, I wanted to do it, but not alone. This year I learned that Cherie Smith and her son Justin were chaining themselves at their home in Grantville, PA and I contacted them and asked if they'd like company. I enjoyed meeting their rescue dogs Lacy and Sweet Pea (and hubby Craig!) So, I truly thank "Dogs Deserve Better" and Cherie/Justin for being my inspiration in helping to raise public awareness for the voiceless and forgotten animals. A reporter named Rebecca Jones wrote a wonderful article in our local newspaper. I am attaching a photo I took of Cherie and Justin, and I will be joining them (red biting ants, and all) next 4th of July!

Debb Smith,
Harrisburg, Pa

As most of you know, Justin, Deb Smith (DDB supporter), and I chained ourselves to a dog house on July 4 to bring awareness to the inhumane treatment of dogs that are either chained or penned 24/7 with very little food, water, or shelter and sometimes they don't even have that. A reporter from The Patriot News, Rebecca Jones, came out and interviewed us and took a picture of Justin. The article is in print in today's Patriot News, Community Section (Derry Twp, Middletown, Palmyra, and neighboring areas). Enjoy the article and the pictures. Cherie

Here is the article.

EAST HANOVER TWP.
Friday, July 09, 2010
BY REBECCA JONES rjones@patriot-news.com

For Justin Strawser, 14, of East Hanover Twp., Independence Day is not only about celebrating his freedoms, but it's about granting freedom to those who can't obtain it for themselves.

Last Sunday, Justin chained himself to a doghouse he made. His mother, Cherie Smith, 41, and fellow activist Deb Smith, 51, of Susquehanna Twp., also were chained to dog houses to raise awareness of chained dogs, tethered to their doghouses 24 hours a day, often far from the home with little access to adequate food and water and subjected to dangerous weather conditions.

Their efforts were part of a national event hosted by Dogs Deserve Better, an organization founded by Tamira Thayne, who began the National ChainOff as a one-woman protest in her hometown of Tipton in 2002.

There were 88 registered participants from 24 states nationwide and one participant from Bucuresti, Romania. Pennsylvania had 14 participants.

Strawser was doing it all for Sweet Pea, his 6-year-old lab mix rescued by Dogs Deserve Better in Georgia, where she was chained. He wanted to raise awareness to help prevent other dogs from going through what Sweet Pea suffered.

Strawser and his family met Sweet Pea while looking for a trainer for their 3-year-old Finnish Spitz, Lacy, at "Woofstock," an annual event hosted by the Central Pennsylvania Animal Alliance in Harrisburg.

He spotted Sweet Pea wearing a bright orange vest with the words "Adopt me." Strawser successfully persuaded his stepfather, Craig Smith, to let him adopt Sweet Pea.

For the first few months after Sweet Pea arrived home, Strawser "tried to give her toys and treats, and she didn't know what to do with them," he said. "She knew no other life."

Even as she joined the trio out by their doghouse on Sunday, Sweet Pea was skiddish, nudging in to Justin's side.

"She sees the chains," Cherie Smith said, "and it's like she remembers."

This isn't the first time Strawser tested his limits to give dogs a better life.

Since he met Sweet Pea in 2008, he has been working to give treats, toys and beds to area dogs through Dogs Deserve Better and Angels Among Us Animal Sanctuary in Annville. He has been volunteering at local shelters for the last two years.

In November 2008, just after adopting Sweet Pea, Strawser learned about Dogs Deserve Better's "Sponsor a Foster Dog for the Holidays" program. He couldn't choose just one dog to foster, so he used his own money from birthdays, Christmases and savings to provide for each of the foster dogs.

In the 2009 program, he did it again, donating and shipping toys and treats to dogs nationwide.

In March, Justin was nominated for the national American Humane Association's Be Kind to Animals Kid Contest, for which he won the teen category grand prize, $1,000.

This Independence Day, it was all about the dogs.