| | Brrr.... We've come a long way, babyJanuary 15, 2009 - Amy Jo HannaMost readers of the Altoona Mirror might say they probably thought they’d never live to see the day an African-American was elected president. I, on the other hand, never thought I’d see a feature article on “pets needing special care in frigid temperatures” on the front page of my paper. I may frame this page. Heck, I may carry a copy in my purse (I’m that proud). Thank you, Cori and JD, aka, Tucker's dad)  (Mazey, prepared for the cold) Animal lovers automatically go into overdrive when temperatures drop. They are overly conscious of how extreme weather conditions can affect domesticated animals especially ones kept outside. Yet for some people, the fate of animals left outside exposed to extreme temperatures with little or no protection, is the last thing on their mind. For years, I’ve politely allowed people to tell me the reason their families kept “outside” dogs was for ‘protection’. You know what? No longer. No longer am I going to listen to that lame excuse for mistreating an animal that was created to be a pack animal by keeping it isolated on the end of a leash – tied to a dog house or caged in a pen. If you want a dog, you want a pet - a house pet that you have time to give attention to and care for. You don’t want – or deserve – an animal you keep tied to a doghouse at the far end of your yard that you see once a day when you feed it. In today’s modern world of home security systems you can’t sell me the story that a dog tied to a doghouse is going to offer your home or family ‘protection’. It’s safe to say you have become de-sensitized to your outside dog’s bark anyway and wouldn’t know the difference between a playful bark or threatening bark. If you have a friend, relative or neighbor that still has an ‘outside dog’ (and I do know this from personal experience) they truly don’t appreciate the companionship a pet can provide. Many people still do not understand how archaic an act it is to keep a dog tied and isolated from other people or pets. They are pack animals and designed for social interaction. Without it they develop bad habits, can become territorial and even aggressive. Then people wonder why a dog becomes ‘mean’. Especially during this cold streak, take extra precaution to keep your pets safe and take the time to educate someone who has an outdoor pet that may not understand how harmful this weather can be to an animal that cannot fend for itself. Check out the ASPCA website for additional cold weather safety tips. Article Comments(9)jain4animalsFeb-08-09 3:09 PM AMEN, sister! Dogs Deserve Better has spent years trying to get these points across. I'm glad its catching on. "If you don't want 'em in the home, then you don't want 'em." RobFan530Feb-05-09 8:18 PM Yeah, I am SO glad to hear this coming from an Altoona Mirror writer! Please continue your fight against animal cruelty (AKA chaining a dog outside). Please consider helping DDB at our annual Valentine stuffing party, check out the website for more info (dogs deserve better (dot) org). Thank you again for posting this, I am new to your blog and can't wait to check back for more great bloggin'! ENicelyJan-29-09 10:52 PM Well said, Amy, and thanks for speaking up for these "backyard dogs!" I live in Virginia, and Dogs Deserve Better has done a great job helping people get their dogs off chains, out of pens, and into the home where they are part of the family. SoOvrObamaJan-29-09 11:59 AM Amy, I say we tie all people who do this outside during the next ice storm. That will teach them!! MarionDogsDoDeserveBetterJan-28-09 9:40 PM Hi Amy and I also want to say THANK YOU for such a great and well written article and THANK YOU for standing up for the dogs who have NO freedom. Tami is the founder of Dogs Deserve Better and please take a look at this rescue who is dedicated to the chained dogs. There are many many dogs in the world who live this awful life on a chain, DDB is spreading the word in many areas of the world and hopefully more and more people will come to realize that a chained dog is NOT A LAWN ORNAMENT and the dogs want to be off the chain as they want to be with their human pack.. ****dogsdeservebetter**** DawnAshbyJan-28-09 4:42 PM EXCELLENT article Amy. How many of us undergo depression in the winter when watching our neighbors 'outside' dogs suffer? Thank you for this and please don't forget, right here in your own area the "voice of backyard dogs" was founded by Tamira Ci Thayne when she started Dogs Deserve Better. ****dogsdeservebetter**** Dawn Ashby, Rescue and Public Liaison Director, DDB PamGeorgiaJan-28-09 4:01 PM Amy, thanks for urging others to reach out to folks they know who keep dogs outside. If more of us shared our knowledge with our friends and neighbors, volunteer organizations such as Dogs Deserve Better wouldn't be stretched so thin as we try to help perfect strangers take care of their dogs. I just helped rescue a 9 year old Golden who's been chained 24/7 his entire life. He has some issues we need to work out but he'll finally have the life he's always deserved. Thank you for teaching people that dogs don't belong outside alone. monicasJan-28-09 2:17 PM Thanks for this point of view. So often, even the best of us engage in bad habits because "it has always been done that way," or we just don't think much about what we are doing. Such is the case with keeping a dog as a lawn ornament. Hundres of cities, counties and states are finally passing laws against this type of tolerated dog abuse. These laws are reasonable and in line with the fact that the vast majority of people, rural or urban, today see it exactly as you do: keeping a perpetually chained dog is archaic, barbaric and flat-out abusive. Dogs Deserve Better, located right in your area, is the only national non profit focused on this issue. DDB has broken ground in many places and saved thousands of dogs from a life at the end of a chain. Check them out at ****dogsdeservebetter**** TammyddbJan-28-09 1:44 PM Thanks, Amy, for the article and the comment, and the commitment to standing up for chained dogs. Please ask your readers to support our Have a Heart for Chained Dogs week, to find out more visit our website at DogsDeserveBetter**** Post a Comment | |
