Rescued Teddy in From Cold
PETA’s Community Animal Project Team Takes Action
Fairwood Homes—a low-income housing project in Portsmouth, Virginia, just across the river from PETA’s headquarters—wasn’t really “fit for man nor beast.” Built as temporary housing during World War II, the 300-acre collection of dilapidated shacks teetered precariously on crumbling foundations. Over the years, the buildings had deteriorated, and many were in violation of safety codes, with frazzled electrical wires and caved-in floors.
The decaying community had become a magnet for drug dealers, arsonists, dogfighters, shootings and other violent crimes. Packs of feral dogs and cats roamed the area. Although pit bulls and Rottweilers were banned by the management, enforcement was lax, and dozens of dogs languished on chains in backyards that flooded with every rain.
Then, suddenly, the city condemned the property, giving its 1,500 human residents 30 days to vacate. Animal control called PETA for help.
PETA had worked in Fairwood Homes for years. Our Community Animal Project (CAP) staffers had delivered doghouses and straw to “backyard” dogs, untangled and cut the chains off distressed dogs, transported sick animals to the vet and taken our “SNIP” low-cost spay/neuter van into the area many times.
In the scramble to relocate, many Fairwood Homes residents simply started abandoning their animals to fend for themselves. CAP stepped in, rescuing dozens of animals left to starve, including feral cats who risked being crushed when buildings were demolished.
One Fairwood Homes refugee is Teddy, a small Pekingese mix who lived chained to a front porch for four years. CAP and Teddy go way back—CAP paid to neuter him four years ago, and while he was recovering from surgery at the PETA office, the spunky little ragamuffin stole many hearts.
Teddy had nowhere to go until our neighbors Paul and Mickey and their little dog, Jackie, came along. Teddy and Jackie are now buddies who love to wrestle over a particularly desirable stuffed frog toy and cuddle up in the big overstuffed chair in the bedroom. Teddy will never again have to face a long winter with nothing but a drafty porch for protection.
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Help Ban Chaining in Your Town
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 Dogs are pack animals who crave companionship—being chained up outside all day and night is hell on Earth for them. It’s also dangerous; many dogs left outside fall prey to attacks by other animals or cruel people or are hanged when they panic during a storm or choke after becoming entangled in their tether. Some go mad from confinement and become aggressive, a bite risk to neighborhood children.
You can help by getting a chaining ban passed in your area. Several towns, including Okaloosa, Florida, and Electra, Texas, have banned chaining while others, including Denver, Colorado, and Norfolk, Virginia, restrict the number of hours a dog can be kept chained. Check your city’s municipal codes to see if the issue is addressed. If not, here’s how to get legislation passed:
Look at existing laws. Contact the city council office for information on enacting legislation. Attend at least one open council meeting to see how they are run. Contact the council office to learn how to get your issue on the agenda. When you speak, be concise and factual. Distribute information about chained dogs and a proposed ordinance.
Lawmakers are the most responsive to their own constituents, so ask local residents to write short, polite letters supporting the ban. Point out that chaining is both a cruelty and a safety issue—frustrated, unsocialized dogs can’t tell the difference between curious children or passersby who stop to say hello and dangerous intruders. Many chained dogs are aggressive with strangers or other animals, often resulting in injuries.
Join PETA’s Domestic Animal Legislative Task Force to help initiate local ordinances. For more information, visit HelpingAnimals.com and go to the “Take the Law Into Your Own Hands” page. Write to PETA for a free “Unchain-a-dog” pack.
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You Can Help
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Watch Out for Animals
• If you know someone who is giving up an animal, order one of PETA’s “Finding the Right Home for Your Companion Animal” brochures (or download it from HelpingAnimals.com) to share. It contains an important checklist of questions to ask potential adopters in order to ensure that animals don’t fall into the hands of lab dealers or irresponsible people.
• Be a nosy neighbor: If you don’t see a neighbor for several days or if a home on your street appears to have been vacated, peek into windows and check in the yard for abandoned animals. Notify authorities or the landlord if you suspect an animal has been locked inside a vacant home or apartment—you could end up saving a life. |
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