I don't really understand why people chain their dogs. I guess it stems from a basic worry that the dogs will run away, but if that's the concern, build a fence.
On our small Wisconsin farm, we had dogs and cats, and chickens and cows. Every creature had the run of the farm, except the cows, and they would get out through the occasional hole in the fence. Dad believed that animals - like people - should be free. He also didn't believe that dogs or cats should be in the house, although he caved on the dog front as he got older.
Tammi Grimes of Altoona, Pa., founder of Dogs Deserve Better, a national rescue and advocacy group, fights the chaining of dogs. In April, she brought her message to Delaware's Week for the Animals.
Grimes' motivation comes from her childhood. Her family's Labrador retriever ran free, she remembers, but their beagle, Maggie, was chained.
"The chained one really made me sad," she says. "Just watching her all the time."
Grimes used those memories and an interest in animal issues to push for changes to dog chaining laws state by state. Already, California and Texas have put time limits on chaining, and Pennsylvania is close on similar legislation, she said.
"The chances of getting a full ban is pretty small," Grimes says of her state-by-state push. Breeders and hunters generally oppose a total ban. So states, including Pennsylvania, consider limiting the practice. California has a three-hour time limit; Texas' ban is from 10 p.m. to 8 a.m. Last year, Grimes said, 14 states had anti-chaining bills introduced, but animal advocates in Delaware, decided to push other issues.
Marleen Oetzel, adoption coordinator for Lost and Found Dog Rescue in New Castle, wants to raise awareness and money as part of the nationwide Chain-Off 2008. Oetzel will be chained to a doghouse at Carey's Foreign & Domestic Repair in Georgetown for 24 hours starting at 10 a.m. June 28. She also will be chained to a doghouse for two 12-hour stints July 5-6 at Faithful Friends near Wilmington.
The idea is to draw attention to the issue and make people aware of the cruelty of chaining dogs. Animal activists hope to raise $4,000 to donate to Dogs Deserve Better to further Grimes' efforts. They also will have a petition for Delaware residents to sign.
In 2008, we shouldn't think that chaining an animal - any animal - has a place in our state.
