Tethering

Tethering is the practice of chaining a dog to a stationary object. When a dog is chained for hours on end, he/she will suffer psychologically, physically, emotionally and behaviorally. Continuous tethering is inhumane and many communities in several states have taken steps to limit the amount of time a dog can spend on a chain.

For more information on tethering, please click on the following links:

http://www.aspca.org/fight-animal-cruelty/advocacy-center/
animal-laws-about-the-issues/tethering.aspx

http://www.humanesociety.org/issues/chaining_tethering/facts/
chaining_tethering_facts.html

http://www.unchainyourdog.org/documents/Chaining_QA.pdf

http://www.dogsdeservebetter.org/

Dogs Deserve Better

Dogs Deserve Better is 501c3 organization that has been working since 2002 to free dogs from chains and pens and bring them into the home and family. Their educational program provides outreach to both caretakers of dogs & whole communities, and focuses on the potential hazards to children from having chained, un-neutered, un-socialized dogs, as well as the harm to the dogs themselves. Their legislative efforts focus on changing state and local laws to make it unlawful to leave dogs chained outside for life. The group also fences yards for dogs who have lived on chains, and rescues/rehabilitates approximately 400 dogs per year.

Tamira Ci Thayne, DDB's founder states, "Keeping dogs chained, sometimes called "tethering" is cruel because it deprives these highly social pack animals of proper socialization and often leaves them unable to reach whatever shelter, food, and water they've been provided. It isolates them from any meaningful contact or interaction. The dogs grow aggressively protective of their tiny space and often attack children who come near them. A piece of legislation would help make the state a safer, more humane place for dogs and the public."

Photos below from www.unchainyourdog.org

	A dog that is continuously chained may outgrow his/her collars which can become embedded in the dog's neck and ultimately, the dog may choke to death or die from infection.
	Bailey was rescued from a backyard in Florida where he had been chained and not fed for a month.

"Dogs are naturally social beings who thrive on interaction with human beings and other animals. A dog kept chained in one spot for hours, days, months or even years suffers immense psychological damage. An otherwise friendly and docile dog, when kept continuously chained, becomes neurotic, unhappy, anxious and often aggressive."
(Humane Society of the United States.)