Wanda Sykes—one of the funniest people on the planet, in my opinion—has taken on a very unfunny issue: dogs left chained up outside. Like fellow Southeastern Virginia native and comedian Patton Oswalt, Wanda has sent letters on PETA's behalf to Newport News and Suffolk city officials, urging them to pass legislation against continuous tethering similar to ordinances enacted in neighboring towns, including Hampton, Virginia Beach, Smithfield, Sykes' hometown of Portsmouth, and PETA's hometown of Norfolk. 

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In her letters, Wanda explains that chained dogs—like the three pit bulls discovered by PETA cruelty caseworkers in Newport News in December—are often denied adequate shelter and suffer from loneliness, frustration, and neglect. One of those dogs had already died of starvation, and the two survivors were malnourished and had no access to food or water (PETA has filed cruelty charges against the dogs' owners).

As a mother, Wanda also expresses concern that chained dogs are more likely to become aggressive than dogs who live indoors with their human families, as evidenced by the tragic case of a toddler in Suffolk who was mauled to death by his family's chained dogs. Chaining also sends the dangerous message to children that dogs are disposable objects to be tossed out in the backyard and forgotten when they become inconvenient.

What You Can Do

If chaining is still permitted in your community, please follow Wanda's example and encourage your local officials to enact a tethering ban. You can also help by sponsoring a custom doghouse to be built and delivered to provide a dog with relief from extreme weather.

Team PETA does it again! After losing last year by a scant half a point, PETA has reclaimed the crown in the Sixth Annual GlobalBee International Quiz trivia challenge sponsored by the Sister Cities of Newport News. Team PETA blew away the competition—which consisted of a field of 16 teams representing Hampton Roads–area colleges, high schools, civic groups, and other organizations—besting the second-place team by a comfortable margin of 13 points.

Team PETA members Emily Bowling, Chris Holbein, Hannah Schein, and Lauren Stroyeck aced the diverse topics, which included geography, cultural traditions, current affairs, and science. The team walked away with a handsome trophy, which will be engraved with Team PETA's name and kept proudly for a year.

Holbein attributes the team's success to its members' self-described status as news junkies but also gives a nod to their healthy vegan diets, which he says helps keep their arteries clear and their wits razor sharp.

Are vegetarians really smarter? According to a 2012 analysis of nine studies, eating lots of vegetables is associated with a lower risk of dementia and age-related cognitive decline. And a study by Southampton University linked a high IQ with being vegetarian after finding that schoolchildren who tested high on IQ tests were more likely to become vegetarian later in life.

Want to protect your health, animals, and the environment all at the same time? It's a no-brainer—go vegan. 

As we've mentioned recently, PETA is working overtime—literally—to restrict or outlaw the chaining of dogs in the cities that make up its Hampton Roads home turf in Virginia. One of those cities that still hasn't passed an anti-chaining ordinance is Newport News—and that has to change.

Chaining Hurts

Here's why: Just weeks after PETA discussed the possible adoption of a tethering ban with representatives from the city of Newport News—who declined to take up any chaining regulations at this time—a PETA fieldworker looking for animals in need in Newport News found this dog, Weezy, chained in someone's backyard:

Dogs aren't objects that can be dumped outside, chained, and forgotten about—they're sensitive, social beings who require good care and consideration. Like those of many lonely and vulnerable chained dogs whose owners can't be bothered to spare more than minimal attention or care, Weezy's collar was so tight that it had become embedded in his neck, resulting in a deep, painful, and infected wound.

Weezy was seized by law-enforcement authorities and treated by a veterinarian, and the cruel man responsible for Weezy's suffering has been charged with cruelty to animals. But there is a way to prevent other dogs from experiencing this same type of pain: by passing a restriction or an all-out ban on chaining. PETA's out in front on this issue because its cruelty caseworkers have witnessed time and again how dogs suffer at the end of chains. Chained dogs are psychologically and physically neglected. They often suffer from exposure, dehydration, starvation, untreated injuries, maddening flea and tick infestations, flystrike, heartworm disease, and more. It's not uncommon for chained dogs to hang to death after becoming entangled in their tether or to accidentally hang themselves on objects around them. Chaining also puts the public at risk since chained dogs often unleash their frustration on other people, including children.

What You Can Do

Please join PETA in politely urging the Newport News mayor and City Council members to join neighboring Norfolk, Virginia Beach, Hampton, Portsmouth, and Smithfield in passing an anti-tethering ordinance before another animal suffers like Weezy. And if your community lacks a chaining ban, please encourage local authorities to take up legislation immediately.