A few weeks back our local county run shelter took in several dogs from a hoarding situation. ( total around 30 including puppies)  I am now trying to figure out what in the world this person ( or people) were thinking? How did they think they were helping these dogs? How did they think it was right to let them live like this and to suffer like I am sure many did? ( these dogs were running loose, no vaccines, no one spay/neutered, no vet care at all and very little socialization. None were the least bit aggressive but all were very frightened and confused)

We got a call from the shelter stating that a nursing mom had rejected her puppies so as soon as we were able to that day, we went to check.  Asked immediately about the pups, we asked immediately about the mom.  We found mom in a kennel alone, huddled in the corner, scared to death.  The kennels were loud, lots of barking as the shelter was busting at the seams.  After a few minutes in the kennel with her, we got her moved to a more quiet spot and then brought her babies back to her.   We took the whole family ( as it should be) and a day later went back and got another dog from the hoarding situation.

We named the mom and litter Mae and the force (luke, hans, vader, chewy, and rey) .  Mae had already lost one pup ( that we know about) as the shelter had found one dead in pen that morning.  Rey was very frail and small and we were immediately worried about her.   Mae broke out in a severe upper respiratory infection, green running out her nose, sneezing, coughing, runny nose, horrible.  All went to the vets on a couple occasions, and unfortunately Rey did not make it.   Vader got sick next,  and was rushed to the ER where he spent several days, came home and ended up going back.  Vader had pneumonia, intestinal parasites, ( even though he had been dewormed) anemic, and coccidia .   This poor three week old pup was battling for his life.    Back to Mae, she was some better but not well, and the other dog we pulled, Vikki, also now had a terrible upper respiratory infection.   Luke got sick next, throwing up his milk.   He was taken to Carolina Veterinary Specialists where he remains.  Vader arrested at CVS and we lost another beautiful soul.

Vikki and Mae are both improving and getting much better.  Chewy and Hans are doing great so far too.  The pups are actually starting to eat food and milk blended up.  Luke is still in the hospital and we are hoping for good news today.

Dogs have suffered, have lost their lives, some have survived but if someone had simply had their dogs vaccinated and spay/neutered, those babies would not have went through what they did.  ( some paying the ultimate price of losing their lives) .   IF YOU CANNOT TAKE CARE OF THEM, don’t get them.  They are not able to take care of themselves.   STOP THE MADNESS!  having a dog is a responsibility!  Ask for help, if you are in over your head. Don’t let the dogs suffer because of your lack of compassion, caring and/or income.  People will help.

Rescues clean up where other people neglect.  Its not only emotionally hard.  The tears we shed for all those we lose, is unreal, the lives lost devastating.  The vet bills enough to bankrupt us.  Through all this, we continue to try to clean up where others fail.

So I will ask people again, if you cannot provide for them as they deserve, leave them be and lot those who can, do so.

A gorgeous morning, so out and about to see how some of our four legged friends were spending their day.  Those babies who love us unconditionally, no matter how they are treated. 

As you can see in the first picture above, this gorgeous dog is lying outside, with an obvious heavy chain and a barrel for his/her shelter.  While barrels may can be considered shelter, at the very least, the barrel should be in some sort of frame off the ground ” if” we are going to consider them shelter. ( my vote is no, but at least there are no holes in the barrel, ore to come on that issue) .   Look at this dog, truly look.   Sad eyes, wanting to be with his people, but nope, he lies there, waiting, hoping, that someone will come play with him, get him off that chain he lugs daily, and let him be a part of the family he loves.

Moving along, we find this sweetheart.. check out his/her shelter?  I put a question mark because of the obvious openings throughout.  We can count out any insulation from the cold or heat, any waterproofing, and the dog would prefer to lay on the top of the house than actually in it, again with a chain around his/her neck.  Really people, someone please tell me why?

As we traveled a little further, here is this cutie.  Not only do we have a huge chain, but we do not have any water as I am sure the chain turned over the water.  Okay people, its bad enough you chain your dog in your yard and basically ignore them, so lets use those brains a little and stake the water bucket somehow so that the chain does not knock it over.   ( Better yet, lets unchain Cleveland County and outlaw these awful things)

Here we have three dogs, all chained out, just far enough they cannot interact with each other. Maybe people need to look up what it means to be a ” pack animal”.   And please look closely.  the dog in the back, not only has no water, bucket turned over, but his/her house is upside down. 

Two more, pitiful babies, just wanting attention, yet, banished to live outside on a chain. Our photo session was cut short ( hence the name of the article interrupted) as we got a call about an aggressive dog.  First, we are well aware we are not animal control, but as animal advocates an a 501c3 non profit rescue, and as volunteers and people who give a damn about what happens to the animals.  ( We actually got several calls this weekend but this blog can only cover so much)  Many times the people have no clue who they are calling,asking who they are talking to, or saying so and so told them to call us, we may could help.    I bring up today for a couple reasons.  We never ever mind trying to help. We do it because we love dogs and we know they are often abused, neglected and/or abandoned. Today’s visit had a couple issues I think should be addressed.  Let me clarify that I am making educated guesses on what happened between dogs, and in these situations as I was not there when the issues actually happened. 

We got a call that a dog had attacked another one, and that the neighborhood was afraid to let their kids out.    After discussion, there was a dog loose and due to the dog fight, people were frightened.   The number one thing is that just because dogs get into a fight, it does not mean the either dog is going to attack people.   The people did call the on call ACO, who did come, would not pick up the dog because the dog growled at him ( hey, I am just repeating what I was told) , proceeded to set a trap in the back yard where several tethered dogs were and left.   So now we have a scared neighborhood, afraid to let their kids come out and play, and no one wants to pick up the dog?????   As much as I do not like them, thats what that catch pole is for, to keep you from getting bit. 

Stopping for supplies, we headed that way to try to assist.  We talked to a few of the neighbors, while one had made his children stay inside ( smart move until you assess the situation), he said the dog was scared, not acting aggressive toward people at all.  From there we moved to where the dog was attacked.  The dog had a puncture wound in his throat, the owners had bandaged the wound and were waiting for the vets to open, injured dog was running around outside with them, injured but definitely going to survive.  The trap was indeed in the back area of their yard with several other dogs resided. ( not exactly where you would want to put, could cause more fights, and its hard to defend oneself on a chain/cable)  Also the local PD had been following the dog in their vehicle but had not been able to catch him.  We asked a few more questions and off we went to hunt the boy.

And yes we found him, he was scared to death, running away from everyone, I did get out of the car, got his attention for a second, but he skirted up a dirt road, hopefully headed home, wherever that may be, aggressive no, frightened yes.   One must remember a frightened dog will choose fight or flight.  This boy was definitely choosing flight.  

What this writer took from her years in rescue and talking to all involved.   Two unaltered males ( wait sounds like how Clifford’s got started) getting into an altercation probably over a female in heat.  Many of the dogs in the area were not spayed.   No true danger of a person getting hurt.  No aggressive to people dog, not even sure aggressive to dogs, dog.  The dog that went to the vet was a small dog, and if this other dog had truly wanted to do real harm, it would not have been hard. 

What needs to be done?  Fix your dogs people!  If you do not have the funds, check out low cost spay/neuter clinics, talk to rescues to see if they know of places that can help, but fix your dogs!   Do you truly think it is ok to keep you dog on a tether, unaltered, and let an unaltered male come up and rape them?  Your dog has no choice!  It truly is rape and you are guilty by letting it happen.  Get your dogs off those chains and make them truly part of your family.  If you can’t, find someone who can.   (Sidenote, training for ACOs, as if the dog had been dangerous, you do not leave in the neighborhood)  Dogs deserve better!

Another dreary, rainy, cold Sunday morning and in less than an hour, in a few blocks the following pictures in this article were taken.    Please take a few minutes to truly look into the eyes of these animals.  You can actually see the sadness.  Once again, dogs are social animals, that is why they are called ” pack animals”.  They do not want to be left alone, isolated, outside on a chain.

From the Municipal Code library, Cleveland County NC,  Code of Ordinances, Section 3-7 Cruelty to Animals

(h)It shall be unlawful for an owner or keeper of any animal to restrain an animal in an unsafe manner as outlined under G.S. § 14-362.3. In addition, a tether shall be at least ten (10) feet long with swivels on both ends, shall not exceed ten (10) percent of the animal’s body weight and shall be attached to a properly fitting harness or collar to prevent choking, strangulation, unjustifiable pain, suffering or risk of death. A tethered animal shall have access to suitable and sufficient clean water, food and appropriate shelter.

Above is Cleveland County’s current tether law.   1) while in these pictures above, the chains are probably 10 feet long, how many times are they not, and with the hundreds of animals chained, how often can the ACO’s really go out and check all of them? 2)  not to exceed 10 percent of the animal’s body weight.  I would bet in most cases, if you weighed the chains most of these dogs are hooked to, they would weigh much more than 10 percent. Do the math, a 40 pound dog, chain would be 4 lbs max. 3) properly fitting harness or collar. Many times dogs chained outside, people forget to check the collars and the collars become too tight, embedded over time, some are on choke collars, which can be very dangerous and cause strangulation. 4) access to food, water and shelter. While many times dogs do start out with access, if they are able to wrap the chain around anything, trees, poles, their houses, whatever, it can stop them from being able to get to any of the above.  5) swivels on both ends, I think that is self explanatory and can be seen in the photos and how many are actually chained as to whether there are swivels on both ends.

Here is a scary example.  There is a chain around this dog’s neck used as her collar?  Then the chain is hooked to a cable.   Chains ARE NOT collars.   The dog is also eating something off the ground instead of having bowls with food. This is also a female dog. Is she spayed?  If not, when she comes into heat, she has no way to protect herself from male dogs.

CHAINING IS INHUMANE

• U.S. Department of Agriculture: “Our experience in enforcing the Animal Welfare Act has led us to conclude that continuous confinement of dogs by a tether is inhumane. A tether significantly restricts a dog’s movement. A tether can also become tangled around or hooked on the dog’s shelter structure or other objects, further restricting the dog’s movement and potentially causing injury.”
• According to the Association of Shelter Veterinarian’s Guidelines for Standards of Care in Animal Shelters, “Tethering is an unacceptable method of confinement for any animal and has no place in humane sheltering. Constant tethering of dogs in lieu of a primary enclosure is not a humane practice.”
• The American Veterinary Medical Association  stated “Never tether or chain your dog because this can contribute to aggressive behavior.”
• The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) concluded in a study that the dogs most likely to attack are male, unneutered, and chained.

Most chained dogs must eat, sleep and eliminate in a small area, are often basically ignored by their owners, fed and watered sporadically partially due to the fact water and food bowls get turned over, suffer from lack of exercise, grass becomes hard ground, collars can become too tight, embedded, can strangle, many times vetting is not received, dogs cannot escape the storms, cold, heat, and are isolated from their family.

Another worrisome issue if you look at these pictures, most of the dogs are located around trash, or things thrown out of the house.  People dogs are not your trash. They are living, breathing animals who want to be part of your family.  If you cannot take care of them and let them be a part of that family why get them?  Please don’t say you want them to guard your house.  They cannot guard your house on a chain.  All they can do is bark and since they are unsocialized living on a chain, they are going to bark at friend and foe.

And why we need to hang locks on our dogs necks?   I will never get it.     North Carolina Counties who have banned tethering:

Asheville, North Carolina
Cary, North Carolina
Chapel Hill, North Carolina
Clayton, North Carolina
Cumberland County, North Carolina
Davidson, North Carolina
Durham County, North Carolina
Enfield, North Carolina
Forsyth County, North Carolina
Guilford County, North Carolina
Hertford, North Carolina
New Hanover County, North Carolina
Roanoke Rapids, North Carolina
Weldon, North Carolina
Woodland, North Carolina

Can Cleveland County be proactive instead of reactive? Can we put the welfare of the dogs first?  How simple would it be to enforce if its not allowed?   So much easier than how long chain is, how much it weighs, if it has swivels, etc..

PLEASE UNCHAIN CLEVELAND COUNTY

Why do I have dogs?  They are the most loving social companions I have ever met.  They are my family. We are a pack.  We live together and let me stress, we LIVE TOGETHER.  We do things together. They are part of my life.  My dogs bring me great joy in that when I come home from wherever my day has taken me, they are there waiting on me, happy to see me. If I feel sad, they immediately sense it, and they comfort me.  They are so in tune with my feelings, much more so that humans.

So that brings me to my next question. Can someone please tell me why anyone has a dog to put out in the yard like an ornament and never pay the dog any attention?   To barely acknowledge the dog’s existence?  To hardly ever pat the dog on his/her head?  To leave out in all kinds of weather without even a thought to what the dog is having to endure? 

A dog who lives indoors with his/her family will be better taken care of, his humans will know when he has health issues much quicker as they will see symptoms that will never be seen with the dog living outside all the time. The indoor dog gets to have social time with humans and any other indoor family.  Indoor dogs are also protected from the elements of the outside.   We had a horrible storm and one of my babies was so freaked out inside, I cannot even imagine what those poor babies who were left alone outside were enduring. 

I cannot say it enough, dogs are social animals. They do not want to be isolated alone by themselves.  For the life of me, I will never understand if a human does not want to interact with their dog, why do they want a dog in the first place?  If you want a yard ornament, go buy one that does not live and breathe in the garden center at Wally World but leave the living creatures to those who will truly provide for them.

Clifford’s Army Rescue will be launching a new program in an effort to break loose the chains that bind so many dogs in our county.   Attached to a chain is no life for a dog. Dos are very social animals and want to be with their people.  Not only is it no life for them, it has been proven that life on a chain brings out aggression in dogs.  Please be sure to read the information under references at the end of this post. 

A kennel program is in the works which will provide a kennel in place of the chain. While we are firm believers that dogs are very much social animals and should be a part of the family, in the house with you, we also know several people in our county do not keep their dogs in the home with them on a regular basis.  We would much rather help them keep the dogs safe  and secure with a kennel than have them attached to a chain and suffer the damage that comes along with that attachment.  

There will be some requirements for the kennel.  The main one being the dog will have to be spay/neutered.  If not, and you need help, we will try to assist and/or find assistance for you.

As firm believers in pet retention, we will also be starting a food bank shortly. We are working on requirements and/or ways to distribute food for those in need.

We are fine tuning the details on both programs and hope to launch them both soon. Be sure to stay tuned for more details on both these exciting new programs. 

(Want to help?  Volunteer to help pick up/ put up kennels. Volunteer with fundraisers.  Know of anyone with kennels they are no longer using? Ask them to donate to C.A.R.E.   We will be collecting both new and used to help those in need. )

References:

http://www.unchainyourdog.org/Facts.htm

http://www.unchainyourdog.org/LawsHowTo.htm