Written by Michelle Sherrow
A PETA Community Animal Project (CAP) fieldworker spotted a lone pit bull sitting in a trash-strewn patch of dirt behind what appeared to be an abandoned house. A heavy chain was wrapped around his neck, preventing him from reaching even a single blade of grass. He had no food or water, and his dilapidated doghouse had no floor. When the fieldworker offered him a big bowl of water, the dog lapped it up as if it were the first drink he'd had in a very long time.
Knowing she couldn't legally take the dog, whom she was calling "Dusty" because of his dirty surroundings, the fieldworker forced herself to leave—but not before she left plenty of dog food with the neighbor and implored him to continue to feed Dusty and give him water.
A public-records property search yielded the homeowner's name, and when the fieldworker called him, he said that he was having work done on the house and would be moving back in soon. He refused to part with Dusty but let PETA replace the heavy metal chain with a lightweight tie-out, give Dusty a new doghouse, and move him to a grassy area.
While he still isn't living indoors with his family—the kind of life every dog deserves—Dusty is at least more comfortable. When fieldworkers check on him, he has food and water, and his owner has agreed to have him neutered in PETA's mobile clinic.
Their stories rarely make headlines, and in fact, many people aren't even aware of how much suffering PETA fieldworkers spare animals like Dusty every day. But PETA can't do it alone. If there is a Dusty in your neighborhood, please alert animal control. And if officials are unresponsive, please contact PETA for help. We will never turn our back on an animal in need.
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Her story is a haunting reminder of why it should be illegal to chain dogs. Storm was just 2 years old when she strangled to death at the end of her chain after being chained up outdoors like a rusty old bicycle and left unsupervised. After calls about Storm's horrific death flooded our office, PETA wrote to the mayor of the town in which she died, Portsmouth, Virginia, asking him to introduce "Storm's Law," an ordinance that would ban or seriously restrict chaining.
Storm's owners claim to suspect foul play, but cruel people—who often poison or shoot dogs because they are annoyed by their barking or steal them for use as "bait dogs" in dogfights or to sell to laboratories for experimentation—are only one of the many dangers that chained dogs face. Obviously, Storm should have never been chained in her sad little mud patch to begin with.
PETA receives hundreds of reports of chained dogs, like the one pictured here, every year.
Dogs can strangle or injure themselves when their chains become tangled, or they can be attacked by other animals. Often deprived of food, water, veterinary care, and shelter, chained dogs routinely suffer from a range of maladies, including malnutrition, dehydration, flea infestations, mange, and untreated injuries, and can freeze to death or die of heatstroke.
And dogs aren't the only ones who suffer the ill effects of chaining. Subjecting a social pack animal to a life of isolation contributes to aggressive behavior, making chained dogs three times as likely to bite.
More than 120 jurisdictions have passed laws banning or restricting chaining. If, like Portsmouth, your area still allows dogs to be chained, please use PETA's tips to get a chaining ordinance passed.
Written by Jeff Mackey
Over the last couple of days, we've told you about some of the ways that PETA worked in 2011 to end the suffering of animals in its own "backyard"—southern Virginia and northeastern North Carolina. PETA staffers are in the field every day working with guardians and local authorities, delivering doghouses and straw, providing transport to our clinics for spay/neuter procedures and other veterinary care, and much more.
On Friday, you may have read about many of the animals whose lives and futures were made brighter by PETA's fieldworkers, which is always what we hope for. But since PETA's hands-on work focuses on finding and helping the most abused, neglected, and underserved animals—those whose years of illness, injury, deprivation, exposure, and isolation typically make rehabilitation and adoption into a loving and responsible home impossible—offering love, kindness, and a peaceful release from suffering is sometimes the kindest option possible.
The following are a few of the animals PETA helped in 2011, along with information about how you can help us prevent more animals from suffering from neglect and abuse (warning—graphic images):
An elderly couple called us for a doghouse for their dog, DJ. PETA's fieldworker discovered that DJ was not just terribly unsocialized but also had a chain wrapped directly around his neck that had become deeply embedded into his skin as he grew. DJ's guardians had no idea that this had been happening and were shocked to discover his condition. They surrendered DJ to PETA, and he is no longer suffering.
The girlfriend of the person responsible for two dogs, Trixie and Hitler, contacted PETA because Hitler was already dead on her property and Trixie was severely emaciated. A necropsy later confirmed that Hitler had starved to death—the tip of his own tail was found in his stomach. The vet determined that Trixie was about 20 pounds underweight. The animals' guardian signed a contract agreeing not to acquire any more animals.
PETA took in this cat who was suffering from an open wound over his entire back that was teeming with maggots. A local woman had been feeding stray cats in her yard for months but was totally oblivious to this cat's condition.
When little Pokey's family moved away, they simply left this ill puppy in the yard to die. Despite days of intensive treatment and being showered with love, Pokey's condition deteriorated, and her veterinarian said that the most humane option was to give her an immediate release from her suffering.
Turning away cats and dogs like these just to avoid having to euthanize them doesn't help unwanted, suffering, and dying animals. If PETA, like many animal shelters today, cared more about how its statistics look to the public than the well-being of the individual animals who so desperately need help, animals like Pokey would be left to suffer and die in agony instead of being gently relieved of their misery in the soothing embrace of probably the first and only people ever to show them any kindness.
PETA has renewed our call for the National Governors Association to use its influence to end animal homelessness by helping pass mandatory spay and neuter legislation across the country in 2012, requiring dogs and cats to be sterilized unless their owners purchase an annual breeding permit, the cost of which would fund low-cost spay-and-neuter services. Without such laws, animal homelessness and neglect will continue—causing animals like DJ, Trixie, the homeless cat, and Pokey to continue to suffer.
Please join this effort by asking your governor to support strong spay and neuter legislation.
Sidewalk ©iStockPhoto.com/LingXia
Although more and more municipalities are passing laws against chaining dogs, many cities still have no such legislation, and there are many dogs still suffering and dying at the end of a chain, especially in freezing weather. Now PETA is making some of these cities—including Spokane, Washington —an offer they shouldn't refuse: We'll shovel the snow off the sidewalks outside City Hall if they’ll let us stencil ads on those sidewalks to focus attention on the plight of dogs chained outdoors all winter.
Chained dogs are forced to endure extreme weather conditions and usually go without veterinary attention and any form of companionship. Cold winters spell extra hardship for dogs left outdoors, as they may suffer from dehydration when water sources freeze as well as frostbite and exposure. Frustrated dogs tied out on chains are also more prone to aggression and biting and are vulnerable to acts of cruelty.
Whether or not these cities accept PETA's win-win proposition, there are plenty of ways that we can all speak up for freezing, lonely chained dogs. If your community lacks an ordinance against chaining, demand one—and if you see dogs chained outdoors, help them.
Written by Heather Faraid Drennan
One of the perks of working in PETA's offices is that we get to share our work space with the dogs who go to work with their guardians. As enjoyable as it is for us, though, the dogs are the ones who benefit the most because they aren't left home alone all day. Here are the stories of three of the dogs who help make working at PETA a little bit more fun.
Chance was adopted from a local animal shelter four years ago and now has a full-time job overseeing PETA's office in Oakland, California. He loves getting to see his canine best friend, Monster, and greets everyone with a hearty "Arooorooroo!" His favorite part of the job is helping with outreach events, at which he attracts people to the PETA booth by looking irresistible in his PETA doggie T-shirt.
A PETA Community Animal Project staffer found Sophie chained to a car with no food or water when she was about 6 months old. She was living in a mound of trash, and her rescuer at first mistook her for an old tire until she saw the dog's frightened little eyes. Now 10 years old, Sophie accompanies PETA Senior Vice President Lisa Lange to PETA's Los Angeles office, which has helped bring Sophie out of her shell and provided her with things to think about and watch and the opportunity to learn that not all humans are cruel.
When Maguire was a puppy, his family moved and left him at an animal shelter. He was shy and depressed and, since he'd been largely confined to a basement, was not very comfortable with the outside world. A PETA Foundation staffer who volunteered at the shelter adopted Maguire, and when she took him home at 10 months old, he didn't even know how to play with toys. Now 12 years old, Maguire has been part of PETA's Norfolk office crew for years.
If you can't take your pup to work, be sure to go home at lunchtime or hire a dog walker or neighbor to let your dog out. No one wants to stare at the walls for eight hours or more, let alone "hold it" for an entire workday. One way to minimize the loneliness of these pack animals is to have more than one dog so that they can keep each other company.
Written by PETA
Sophie is a rescued dog who accompanies PETA Vice President Lisa Lange to work at PETA's Los Angeles office. Not to be outdone by Bubbles, Sophie has also written to Kris Kringle, asking him to help less fortunate dogs.
If you can't bear the thought of wrapping up another video game or pair of gloves, why not give your loved ones the gift of alleviating animal suffering? We've rolled out our PETA Presents website just in time for the holidays, and the site features gifts from $5 to $500 that protect animals every time your loved ones pull off a big red bow.
You are guaranteed not to hear, "You shouldn't have," when you wrap up a toy for a lonely chained dog, a spay/neuter surgery, or a day off for a working animal.
We'll send your recipient a beautiful e-card thanking him or her for helping animals. Or, if you prefer to have something to put under the tree, you can print a picture and description of the gift and create an attractive certificate suitable for framing.
Long after the gift cards have been spent, the candy has been eaten, and the golf clubs are gathering dust in the closet, your gift will still be helping animals. Visit PETAPresents.org to start giving today.
This poor mother dog was so emaciated that she barely had the strength to nurse her six puppies. She was confined to a bare wooden box located behind a pizza parlor and was weighted down with a heavy chain.
After a member of Hoovers Hause All Dog Rescue spotted one of the pups wandering near the busy street beside the restaurant, she soon discovered the mother dog and called the sheriff's department. But catch this: Law enforcement gave the owner two to three weeks to put weight on the mother dog. Hoovers Hause All Dog Rescue had a better idea—the group posted pictures of the dogs on Facebook and asked people to get the sheriff's department to act now.
When a PETA supporter alerted us to the situation, we asked the poster to try to persuade the owner to give the dogs over to her. Bingo! All the dogs were whisked off to a veterinarian (likely the first time the mother dog had ever received medical care). The rescue group paid for the mother dog's heartworm treatment and agreed to care for her and her puppies while screening potential adopters.
The owner had told police that the mother dog was so thin because she had been poisoned, but with simple helpings of good food, this lucky rescued girl has already gained 8 pounds. PETA is now urging officials to pursue cruelty charges.
If you see anything on social-networking sites that suggests an animal could be in danger, please contact authorities—and, if they are unresponsive, call PETA.
What do dogs forced to live outside in all weather extremes long for? Being inside with their human "pack," of course. But when they are denied that basic opportunity, a sturdy doghouse stuffed with straw to help keep out the freezing winter weather can make a huge difference in these dogs' tiny backyard world. Tonka, a pit bull who recently received a PETA doghouse to replace the plastic barrel that had been his poor excuse for shelter (imagine it filled with rainwater and the cold wind blowing night after night all miserable winter long), was delighted with his new digs.
In addition to aiding sick, injured, and abused animals around the clock, PETA's Community Animal Project (CAP) delivers houses to dogs like Tonka in the area surrounding PETA's headquarters—southeast Virginia and northeastern North Carolina. CAP staffers check in regularly with the dogs to make sure that they have adequate food and clean water and talk with their owners about proper care. They also routinely deliver toys, treats, and, of course, love and affection to these neglected animals. Many doghouse recipients are also clients of PETA's mobile spay-and-neuter clinics and, therefore, will not be contributing to the homeless animal crisis.
Never pass by a "backyard dog" who doesn't have adequate shelter: Contact local animal-control officials immediately. Click here to make a donation to support the doghouse program and CAP's vital work to bring relief to neglected and abused animals.
If you have a general question for PETA and would like a response, please e-mail Info@peta.org. If you need to report cruelty to an animal, please click here. If you are reporting an animal in imminent danger and know where to find the animal and if the abuse is taking place right now, please call your local police department. If the police are unresponsive, please call PETA immediately at 757-622-7382 and press 2.
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