21 Reasons Chaining Should Be Banned: Meet Some Dogs PETA Helped in 2021
The chained dogs PETA fieldworkers meet and help often spend their entire lives isolated and alone. They’re forced to watch as life passes them by without love, companionship, respect, exercise, or even, in many cases, basic necessities like healthy food, clean water, adequate shelter, and veterinary care. All dogs should be treated as a beloved member of the family, not shackled outside and left to languish. This is why, by providing “backyard dogs” with a lightweight tie-out to replace a heavy chain, warm straw bedding, and a toy to brighten their day—or ideally, even securing a new life for them indoors with a loving family—PETA will always keep “breaking the chain” of neglect and abuse.
Meet 21 of the thousands of chained dogs PETA helped in 2021:
1. Pancake
Pancake was abandoned and left chained (along with Sharon, below, and a third dog) after her owner died of COVID-19 in January—but then PETA flipped the script. See her living the sweet life at last:
2. Sharon
Sharon was chained along with Pancake on a property that PETA fieldworkers had been visiting since 2018. If not for our regular visits and care, they surely would have died.
When we finally secured the dogs’ relinquishment in July, a PETA fieldworker who was dedicated to this sad case welcomed Sharon into her home. This sweet pup now enjoys the comforts of life as an indoor dog with a family that includes other PETA adoptees.
3. King
You can be the reason why lonely “backyard dogs” like King wag their tails, when you donate a toy to PETA’s field team. This sweet, goofy boy didn’t seem to mind the straw bedding or much-deserved TLC that our fieldworkers gave him, either.
4. Lady
Lady had been chained amid trash, without any shelter to protect her from the elements …
… until our fieldworkers gave her a new wooden doghouse:
5. Baby Boy
This PETA fieldworker checks on Baby Boy, who is chained outdoors outside 24/7, and gives him as much companionship as possible every chance she gets.
6. Baby Boy
Not to be confused with the dog above, this Baby Boy is also almost always at the end of a tether—except when PETA fieldworkers stop by to check on him and give him lots of love and attention.
7. Midnight
Over the summer, PETA staff and volunteers were busy helping dogs like Midnight during the increasingly hot weather, ensuring that they had shelter, basic necessities, and lots of toys and pats.
8. Snoop
After years of visits and persistence by PETA fieldworkers, Snoop is no longer condemned to a lonely existence tethered outside.
We transferred him to the Virginia Beach SPCA in Virginia, one of our partner shelters, where he was adopted.
9. Psycho
Our determination also paid off when we secured relinquishment of fieldworker favorite Psycho, who couldn’t possibly have been given a less appropriate name. This young dog had been chained his whole life until we transferred him to the Virginia Beach SPCA for a chance at adoption.
10. Brooklyn
As temperatures rose dangerously during spring and early summer, PETA kept helping animals like Brooklyn, ensuring that they had access to fresh water, food, and shade.
11. Blackie
PETA’s field team made sure that Blackie had access to food, water, shelter, and shade, too.
12. Blue
We spayed Blue and even provided her with transport to and from our mobile clinic for free!
13. G
G was kept in an often wet, muddy spot in the backyard, with inadequate shelter …
… but then PETA stepped in. With his owner’s consent, we moved him to a drier spot in the yard and provided him with a free, sturdy doghouse.
14. Bigfoot
Once upon a time, Bigfoot was chained outdoors …
… but thanks to the PETA fieldworkers who rescued him and the Norfolk SPCA in Virginia, he got the “happily ever after” that every dog deserves.
15. Roxy
We also helped find a loving home for Roxy, who was previously kept chained outdoors.
After months of medical treatment, she became heartworm-free—and she now lives the good life with her adoring new family.
16. Buddy
This isn’t how you treat a buddy:
This is how you treat a buddy:
17. DJ
We gave a new wooden doghouse to DJ, who was chained outside without shelter in near-freezing temperatures.
We rushed to provide him with a sturdy, insulated, custom-built doghouse and transported him to and from the clinic for a free neuter surgery.
18. Snowball
After many visits and much persistence, Snowball’s owner agreed to let us have this young dog, who was being kept tied up outside.
We transferred her to the Norfolk SPCA, where she was quickly adopted.
19. Puppies
After spotting these puppies tangled up in chains, our field team persuaded their owners to surrender them and let us transfer them to a local shelter for a chance at adoption into a safe, loving, indoor home.
20. Precious
An elderly woman contacted PETA for a doghouse for her newly acquired pit bull puppy, Precious. We talked to her about dogs’ needs, and she let us help Precious find an indoor home, transferring the sweet girl to the Virginia Beach SPCA for adoption.
21. Pebbles
We transported Pebbles for free to and from her no-cost spay appointment.
*****
These 21 (technically 22) individuals are only a few of the countless neglected dogs and other animals helped by PETA in 2021. We also helped Samson, Oscar, Oreo, Luna the chinchilla, and others find safe, loving homes—and these rescues were possible because of kind people like you:
With your help, we can make 2022 the kindest year yet for dogs and all other animals! Learn more about the ways PETA fieldworkers make the world a more compassionate place for companion animals by watching Breaking the Chain on Prime Video:
And discover more about lifesaving tethering bills and bans:
