Despite constant urging from rescues & animal welfare groups that dogs should live indoors with their furmilies, especially during extreme weather, thousands of dogs live their lives tied up (or chained) in backyards. There are lots of reasons why forcing a dog to live like this year-round is unhealthy & pawsitively unkind — & it’s not just about the weather. Many dogs love to be outside but in this post we are referring to those who are tied up 24/7.

Years ago my  huMom rescued, “Suzie Q”, a mixed breed Roti-Beagle who had been tied up for 7 long years. She was on an 8 foot chain & had a small uninsulated dog house. Sadly she lived only a few feet away from her human’s house & it must have been dreadful for her to hear & smell her human furmily but was almost never allowed to be a part of the pack. When we brought her home she was beyond happy but the harm done to her was clear. She was a wonderful pawt of our furmily but she remained very needy. She gots separation anxiety whenever someone left the property & she struggled with social norms.  Lady Q has passed on but she did so knowing love, the comforts of home & furmily.

Dogs are highly social pack animals. Unlike their wild cousins dogs don’t have packs, they only have their human furmily. Keeping dogs tied up outside consigns them to a life of loneliness. Depriving a dog of companionship is its own form of cruelty.

It should also be noted that dogs can overheat very quickly in warm weather climates & can get hypothermia in cold, wet conditions. A dog left unattended can suffer terribly or die needlessly.

One of the cruelest things to do to a dog is to leave them tied up outside for a prolonged period of time. Dogs kept on chains watch as the world goes by.  Can you imagine what that life would be like. No companionship, no interaction. Could you live that life?

Please help advocate for changing this attitude by dogscussing with others, your politicians & animal welfare organizations.  💜nose nudges💜

 

Have a pawsome week, CEO Olivia, Dot, Jerry Underfoot & Eddy 💜

 

       

 

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