Legislation Against Chaining and Penning Dogs

Dogs Deserve Better Than A Life On Chains or In Pens! Dogs Deserve Better is an ASPCA award-winning nonprofit education / legislation / rescue organization dedicated to freeing the chained or penned dogs and bringing them into the family home and the family's hearts.

The organization has launched several national awareness campaigns to give a voice to the dogs who have been chained or penned outside to experience not only the effects of loneliness, boredom, parasites, and lack of food, water, exercise, and adequate shelter, but also the tragic effects of intense cold, numbing wind, frozen water, and blowing snow during the winter as well as the smothering heat, humidity, and rain or drought during the summer. Regardless of breed or size, there is no such thing as an "outside dog." This is a choice that the human has made for the dog, a choice that a dog, as a pack animal, would never make for himself.

Forcing a dog to live outside exposes him to psychological difficulties, the possibility of animal or human attacks, and the will to venture beyond the chain or pen, as well as to developing territorial and acting-out behaviors such as barking, jumping, and biting. Additionally, animals who live away from the family experience feelings of loneliness due to sporadic and brief affection and socialization.

Chaining or penning dogs is not only an animal issue, it is a public safety concern, as well. Animal behaviorists and animal care professionals acknowledge that chaining creates aggressive behavior in dogs. The Humane Society of the United States indicates that a chained or penned dog is 2.5 times more likely to attack than a dog who is living indoors. Additionally, a study cited by National Animal Control News (March/April 2004) concluded that dogs who have been chained or tethered for more than eight hours per day are three times more likely to bite their caretakers than if they had not been chained.

From October 2003 - April 2004, in the United States alone, there have been 10 serious injuries or fatal attacks caused by chained dogs. Four of those attacks occured in April 2004.

This petition serves the dogs who have been chained or penned FOR LIFE - not those who have been allowed outside to enjoy the good weather, to do "their business," or play.

This petition will be presented to the local and state legislature as well as to the President of the United States in an effort to enact laws against chaining and penning dogs. It can be made available to any individual who wishes to send it to their local lawmakers.