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Chain Off 2006 kicked off with a gorgeous day, wonderful guests in the form of actor Adrian Zmed, singer Cheryl Hill, MC David Price, and HSUS rep Adam Goldfarb as speakers, along with Tammy Grimes, founder of Dogs Deserve Better. Awards were given to the following people or companies who were very instrumental in helping DDB in the past two years. Award List: Humane
Kindness Award Humane
Ideas Award Humane
Vision Award True
Advocate Award Remarkable
Rep Award 15 Contestants were scheduled to be chained, but only 10 showed up, plus an alternate. The contestants who arrived as planned were Michael Hardy, Jacob Pittman, Jacqueline Waldroup, Heather Shirley, Aija Gillman, Susan Fitzgerald, Shawn Fox, Thomas Frank, Stephen Port, Corey Hool, and alternate Don McKendree. Five people did not show up: Trevor Fortson, Brandon Richardson, John Roland, Michael Smith, and Steven Knox. The media was very present, three TV stations, as well as three newspapers, with AP picking up the photos. Corey Hool was the first contestant to drop, at 6:00 p.m. Saturday, July 1st. Photos below, with descriptions.
Truck
takes houses to ballfield. Thanks to JLine Trucking for hauling
the doghouses to the park.
More shots of setup.
David Price, MC, gets the speakers going. Adrian Zmed watches from the front table.
Tammy, Adrian Zmed and Tracy Copes at Kickoff. Deb Carr, Treasurer with Adrian
Contestants start to take their positions. Don McKendree left, Jacob Pittman right.
Tracy checks in Jacob, Mikael to the right being photographed by a reporter.
Onlookers watch as contestants are chained.
Aija is checked in; Tammy chains Mikael
Shawn and Susan are chained. Below, Thomas and Stephen
Aija and Corey, the first to drop. Below, Don, and Corey with Jacqueline.
Jacob, Jacqueline, and Mikael chained.
Tammy is chained by her mom. (You don't hear THAT everyday!) Remember to pick your favorite contestant and Vote for the People's Choice Award Winner! Day One Update As this is the first time we at DDB have ever tried to do something like this, we had our share of snafus, including not being ready when kick off time came around. Luckily enough volunteers showed up, and even some of the contestants pitched in to get things finalized. We were surprised that so many contestants didn't show up...five in all. The ones who were here were quite happy to be down five already. Adrian Zmed aroused quite a stir, with one small girl crying after she met him. Another little girl was so excited to meet him, his mother told us she watches Grease 2 over and over again. He led the audience in a round of Happy Birthday at the end of the speeches as Tammy's son Rayne turned 13 July 1st. Thank God for Broadway actors! David Price is quite a character, and moved things along smoothly, with enough humor to keep the crowd laughing. Adam Goldfarb from HSUS spoke about the connections we all need to make for our companion animals as well as others who deserve our respect. We
learned that Don McKendree (the alternate who came
on at the last moment) has a chained Alaskan husky named Niki, so
we were very excited to hear that, as we will be interested to see
how he feels about chaining a dog after this experience. He also
signed a form saying that if he is the winner, he is willing to
work with us to bring Niki into the home, and to fence his yard.
Yay! Cheryl Hill headlined at 8:00 p.m., in an acoustic set with Jorge Cossio. They were incredible in person, well worth seeing. The rest of the contestants settled down for the night fairly readily, relieved to be down one man already. During the night there were some tribulations with a camping band, a little rain, but other than that no one else dropped out. Excerpts
from Contestants Diaries, Day Two A.M.
Stephen Port: Rained last night, had some plastic to keep me dry. It helped, but reminded me that animals don't have a choice, I do. Tom Frank: Last night I found out how much difference a shelther makes. A heavy dew collected on the top of my sleeping bag, continuing to build all through the night. Aija Gillman: Visiting half-hour was a bit difficult. I already miss my friends terribly. Jacqueline Waldroup: I just want my pillow...I believe some people have lost their minds. The guy two houses down is bound and determined to "walk a path" into the grass around his house. Mikael Hardy: I can't imagine a life like this; the days, hours, and minutes simply run into each other with nothing to mark them. Jacob Pittman: The contest is actually harder than I thought. All the locals seem very interested in us. Don McKendree: During the night rain moved in. Had to make changes in sleeping (so as to not get wet.) Heather Shirley: Since dairy cows in Factory Farms should be high on our list of priorities, in my view the cheese served was upsetting to me. Shawn Fox: I remember thinking last night before I went to bed that the car has 4 bolt, 14" steel rims. The first thing I thought this morning was that it has a dual overhead cam 1.6 liter motor. Susan Fitzgerald, poem: I
am not a writer. (Susan dropped out before the first thunderstorm, approximately 2:30 p.m.) Remember to pick your favorite contestant and Vote for the People's Choice Award Winner!
Day
Two Update
After breakfast (which Heather declined as it was not very healthful), the contestants got to write in their journals. We had forgotten the night before, so as this was their first time...we couldn't wait to see what they wrote! After seeing Susan's poem, we felt pretty certain she'd be the second to go, and we were right. At 3:00 p.m. thunderstorms threatened, and Susan could take it no longer. She packed up her stuff and came over to the concession stand. She was crying, and turned down using our standby hotel room to calm down, take a shower and possibly a nap, and said she was going to go ahead and go home. It was a day for rain, and the contestants had to be moved to the big tent three times due to lightening. They missed the heaviest rain of the day as it was accompanied by lightening, but did catch a small rainshower later. Night
two journal excerpts (June 2): Tom Frank: I have become increasingly concerned with certain rules either not being defined or never existing at all. We can talk to each other whenever we want? This talking is making things a breeze for people, which in turn frustrates me. Aija Gillman: Some of the other contestants are a bit annoying...seeming to want to win to further their own cause then to simply play for the cause of bringing awareness to animals in need...personally, I do not believe the car is worth playing for. Jacqueline Waldroup: I know these journals are supposed to be about how we feel as dogs, but you want us to be real, right? Well, that means no planned out, well-articulated 'stories' of the day, or saying what we think we're supposed to say. Mikael Hardy: Being ignored and left out is a terrible feeling. The isolation is tremendous...I miss my dogs. I miss my husband. I miss my life. Jacob Pittman: Well, I moved homes which will be nice. The people here are very interesting. I will leave it at that. Don McKendree: From time to time dogs stop to visit. It is nice to see how disciplined these dogs are. I understand some were rescued. Heather Shirley: What I learned is that I need to improve my activism by not being overbearing and too pushy. Shawn Fox: I have trained myself to shut off my mind and lay around. Now that there is no one around (1 left, 1 moved), that will come in handy. Contest-Day
One/Two & Synopsis, Photos: First to Go Contest-Day
Fourteen & Synopsis, Photos: Event
T and Water Bottle Combo Sets, Only $11.75!
If you'd like to help, please donate to our cause today! We need your help. Visit
our volunteer
page for more ideas of how you can get involved. If
you'd like to donate via regular USPS mail, Dogs Deserve Better is a 501c3 nonprofit education/legislation/rescue organization. Your donations are tax-deductible according to IRS guidelines. |
Day
Two started with a loose dog which Tammy couldn't go after due to
being chained, thirsty contestants who were looking at Tammy, but
no one to get them water...they were all in the same boat, and all
the real helpers were still sleeping. 
