PETA Traded These Dogs’ Chains for Chain Link, Thanks to Lowe’s! (Photos)
The goal of PETA’s Community Animal Project (CAP) will always be to persuade those who have dogs to grant them a life indoors as a proper part of the family. But when dogs’ owners refuse, PETA fieldworkers find other ways to improve these animals’ lives. Last year, to aid these efforts of unchaining the countless dogs in northeastern North Carolina who are kept tethered outside 24/7, Lowe’s Companies Inc. generously donated fencing materials to CAP. The caring contribution earned the home improvement company, which is based in North Carolina, a Compassionate Business Award. In the months since, PETA fieldworkers have brought Lowe’s catchphrase “Never Stop Improving” to life. Take a look:
1. Mia
Fieldworkers tend to try not to play favorites, but Mia—a fawn-colored pit bull PETA’s been visiting since 2022—makes it tough not to. Sadly, before she was even 1 year old, the playful pup was living outdoors 24/7, tethered to a tree with a plastic doghouse.
We spayed the affectionate girlie and hooked her up with a sturdy, custom-built wooden doghouse—all free of charge.
Last fall, shortly after Lowe’s fencing donation, the city that Mia resides in passed an ordinance that prohibits leaving dogs chained or tethered unattended outside. After Mia’s owner refused to allow PETA the chance to find the deserving dog a loving home indoors where she’d be part of the family, fieldworkers did the very best next thing they could by putting Lowe’s donation to work, giving Mia 20-by-20 feet of unchained elbow room.
2. Angel and Luna
Once upon a time, Angel and Luna lived indoors as a proper part of the family … but that’s where these girls’ fairytale begins and ends. In 2022, their owner’s landlord dictated that no dogs would be allowed to live inside. Physically and financially unable to move to a new place and emotionally unable to relinquish the dogs, Angel and Luna’s owner chained them in his yard, kickstarting their forced existence outdoors. With Angel tethered, PETA provided a (free) wooden doghouse that included an overhang for shade.
The girls’ owner had attempted to contain Luna in a pen himself, but the enclosure was old and shoddy, and the “wild gal”—as one PETA fieldworker affectionately called the black pit bull mix—regularly broke out. The unsatisfactory solution? Luna was penned and chained.
Thanks to a shared wooden fence and Lowe’s generosity, if a pen and a fenced-in backyard were to have a love child …
… that’s what fieldworkers were able to construct for the since-spayed canine duo.
3. Toby and Cookie
If ever there were dogs in need of home improvement, they were Toby, Cookie, and their furry friends. After an anonymous good Samaritan alerted PETA to a property with numerous dogs in need, fieldworkers discovered multiple dogs chained without proper shelter, including Toby and Cookie—BFFs who were, heartbreakingly, tethered apart.
Although the dogs’ owners weren’t keen to relinquish anyone, they were open to CAP’s help. Knowing that local ordinances offer dogs like Toby and Cookie little protection, fieldworkers did what they could: They transported multiple dogs to and from their spay/neuter surgeries with PETA’s mobile clinics division, provided flea and tick medicine, delivered insulated doghouses, ditched some of the dogs’ chains for lightweight tie-outs, and—finally—erected a large pen for these canine compadres.
4. K.J.
As one hunky dude, K.J. was in need of one hunky pen. Sadly, the XL dude’s X-small enclosure wasn’t even close to adequate.
Initially, CAP expanded the rinky-dink pen using materials available in K.J.’s owner’s yard and leftovers from past projects. When K.J. demonstrated he needed even more room to express himself, fieldworkers installed a post and a runner cable, too, in the hope of giving him a little bit of the freedom that his initial pen had robbed him of.
The runner line, which has been a gamechanger for multiple other dogs CAP visits, turned out to be a bust for this beefy beau. (Consider K.J.’s inability to keep a collar on as just another reason never to opt for ear-cropping surgery.) But thanks to Lowe’s timely donation, fieldworkers instead built K.J. a pen that more than doubled the size of his initial one.
Like every dog, K.J. still deserves better. But while fieldworkers continue to try to persuade the dog’s owner to bring him inside, they’ll keep improving home improvement.
5. Bear
The dogs fieldworkers visit—the ones who are made to exist outdoors—are sort of like Hollywood marriages: When you’re denied not just adequate but also any veterinary care, forced to brave the sweltering summers and frigid winters, and robbed of enrichment and love, making it past 5 years old is considered a bit of a miracle. So when fieldworkers first learned of Lowe’s fencing contribution, “old-man” Bear immediately came to mind.
For years, fieldworkers visited Bear and did what they could: We neutered and vaccinated him, provided a proper doghouse and a lightweight tie-out to replace his janky chain, brought him interactive toys to try to give the smart dude something to do, and staked his doghouse into the ground after he showed off his affinity for making it part of his limited zoomies course. And, of course, CAP encouraged his owner time and again to bring sweet Bear inside.
When the latter didn’t work, fieldworkers knew Bear needed to be one of the recipients of a Lowe’s special. Now, with more room to trot, fresh grass to smell, and nothing yanking at his neck, Bear’s latest CAP visitors were happy to report that the mature mutt seems happy with his new lodgings.
6. Max
When PETA first met Max, he was chained to a magnolia tree and his mostly plastic doghouse appeared to have doubled as a chew toy. Having heard good things about CAP from their dog-owning nearby friends and neighbors, Max’s owners were keen to get the playful pit bull mix neutered and vaccinated and to provide a doghouse that would actually protect him from the elements.
Once again, Lowe’s chain link helped PETA with breaking the chain—Max’s chain. Fieldworkers erected the new pen around the magnolia tree for some natural shade coverage and swapped the shoddy doghouse for a hardier wooden one. Sure, MTV Cribs may not be phoning anytime soon, but Max—newly footloose and chain-free—seemed delighted with his magnified abode.
Join PETA and Lowe’s: Never Stop Improving for Animals
With this charitable assistance from Lowe’s—which also stopped selling glue traps on its website earlier this year—PETA has been able to provide relief to dogs who would otherwise have been forced to spend their entire lives languishing in isolation at the end of a chain. If Lowe’s kind-hearted donation and multifaceted compassion inspire you to do your part, we have good news: Helping dogs in your local area can be as easy as pushing for chaining bans in your community. Read the laws that have been passed by other communities, see what officials in those communities are saying about their laws, and get started on changing your area for the better!
