Chained Dogs Deserve Better
The REPUBLICAN &
Herald
January
26, 2007
Cold
weather was slow to arrive this winter, but is here to stay for
awhile. Today, the highs are expected to be in the teens and Thursday
night the temperature dropped to the single digits, with a "real
feel'' of below zero.
It's
the time of year when people notice the dogs chained to doghouses
in their neighbors' backyards. They had probably forgotten about
them since the hottest days of last summer, when their sad situation
also attracted brief attention.
Some
dogs kept outside are provided with a doghouse insulated against
the cold, lots of straw for bedding, fresh water and a large pen
in which they can move about freely. While it's not comparable to
life in the house as a family pet, the dogs seem to receive good
care.
However,
many other outside dogs are hampered by a short, heavy chain attached
to a rickety, drafty doghouse and have nothing more than a thin
piece of old carpet on which to sleep. Some chained dogs have no
shelter at all, and drinking water is available only after the ice
melts in their bowl.
Whether
they're a backyard dog or a "guard'' dog for a business, many
of these animals live out their lives within the radius of their
chain. They're never taken for a walk and never get to play catch.
The only attention they receive is when they're fed.
Why
even get a dog if this is going to be its life?
While
the Hillside and Ruth Steinert Memorial SPCAs issue pleas to people
each winter to bring their pets inside during the coldest weather,
a national organization is also trying to bring attention to the
plight of chained dogs. You see its bumper stickers on cars here
and there: Dogs Deserve Better.
Its
Web site - www.dogsdeservebetter.org - says Dogs Deserve Better
will work with owners who agree to bring their dog inside by helping
with housebreaking or purchasing a crate for housetraining.
The
group has designated the week of Valentine's Day, Feb. 7-14, as
"Have a Heart for Chained Dogs Week."
Its
Web site also publicizes incidents in which dogs have frozen to
death as a result of being chained or penned outside, as well as
tragedies involving children and dogs.
According
to the group, 112 children have been killed or injured since 2003
by chained or penned dogs that had become territorial over their
small space and weren't used to interaction with people.
People
should report situations in which a dog seems to be at risk from
the elements and lack of care to an animal shelter or police.
Some
even go a step further, as Lynne S. Neal of the Pine Grove area
did awhile back.
Day
after day, she had passed a lonely black dog on a property along
a busy road outside Pine Grove. He had lived there for many years,
tied to a dog house in the winter cold and summer heat.
Many
drivers who passed by felt sorry for him and sometimes stopped to
toss him a bone or other treat.
"Junkyard''
finally got his freedom and an indoor home of his own with Neal
and her family after years of being fastened to a chain that would
sometimes get so tangled that he could not move more than a few
inches.
He
loved his new surroundings, people, cats and other dogs, and when
he died of cancer just nine months after his rescue, was a beloved
family member rather than just another sad-eyed lonely dog tied
to a doghouse.
If
only there were more people willing to change the life of a ''junkyard
dog.''
©The
REPUBLICAN & Herald 2007
|
