Article by Gina Spadafori on Chaining

Preventable tragedies
Humane groups say chaining dogs is cruel to the animals ­and dangerous to children
By Gina Spadafori
Cox News Service

For those who work to educate people on the cruelty and danger of keeping dogs on chains, the tragic news in April of two children killed by chained dogs within days of each other came as a sad shock but no real surprise.

After all, incidents of this kind are anything but rare. More than 30 times in the last 18 months, a child has been killed by a dog kept on a chain, according to the group Dogs Deserve Better.

"We know that if you isolate a social species, bad things happen," says Stephanie Shain of the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS). "You chain a dog and their whole world becomes this pathetic little circle. Little by little, they go crazy.

"One day, a child comes into that circle. You've removed the ability for a dog's fight-or-flight reaction. For the dog, it's either, 'I have to protect this pathetic little circle' or 'I'm tethered and I can't get away.' "

Despite the spate of tragic deaths, in most cases a child is lucky enough to escape with a scare or a minor bite. For dogs, there is no such luck: Either the misery and loneliness continues, or they are put down for the aggression caused by the practice of chaining.

"It has been going on for a long time," said Tammy Sneath Grimes, founder of Dogs Deserve Better. "Even my mother remembers being bitten by a chained dog. The difference is socialization. Once I started fostering these dogs, they became so easily adjusted. They become part of the family."

A lifelong animal lover, Grimes started her fight against chaining when she moved next to a family who kept a chained dog in their yard. The dog was named "Worthless," and that's just how they treated him.

"I watched him on a chain every day for six years," said Grimes. "No one was ever with him, and he got no love or attention. I used to sneak over to pet and feed him. Finally they told me I couldn't do that anymore."

She ended up with the dog, renamed him Bo, and started her group. As a mother of small children, she is driven to educate others on chaining, not only for the dogs but also for the children who may be endangered by a neglected family pet.

"It's a cultural thing," she says. "People grew up with a chained outdoor dog, and so they chain their dogs outside. They're often hostile when I talk to them about it. Sometimes they lie and say the dog comes in at night when the neighbors know better. The fact that they feel they have to lie about it tells me they know on some level it's wrong."

Some animal advocates feel the answer is to pass ordinances against chaining, or at least to limit the number of hours per day a dog can be on a chain. The HSUS is developing model legislation, and some communities have already passed anti-chaining ordinances.

"The shocking part is anyone ever thought it could work, putting a social creature on chain," said Shain of the HSUS.

Activists are hoping that something good will come out of the recent tragedies. Perhaps people who never cared about how miserable their chained dog is will do something about it now that they know the practice can put their children at risk, too.

Posted on SHARE Yahoo group June 2, 2005