Billboards Remind Halifax Residents That Summer Is a Nightmare for Chained Dogs

PETA Urges Guardians to Take Chained Dogs Indoors to Prevent Deadly Heatstroke and Flesh-Eating Flystrike

For Immediate Release:
July 5, 2016

Contact:
David Perle 202-483-7382

As reported cases of dogs collapsing from heat exhaustion soar, five new PETA billboards are alerting Halifax County residents to the dangers of leaving chained dogs outside in the summer heat, including deadly heatstroke and “flystrike”—a painful condition in which flies attracted to dogs’ waste eat away at their flesh, leaving bloody wounds and infections. Three of the ads read, “Heat Can Kill. Take Dogs Indoors,” and can be seen in Roanoke Rapids on I-95 southbound at the exit to Highway 158 and on I-95 northbound at Justice Branch Road as well as in Weldon along I-95 southbound near Maria Avenue. The other two ads read, “Warning: Flystrike!”—and urge guardians to protect dogs from flystrike by cleaning outside areas daily and treating wounds with ointment such as “Flys Off”—and can be seen in Enfield on I-95 southbound near Heathsville Road as well as on I-95 southbound near Highway 481.

“Chained dogs forced to sleep, eat, and relieve themselves in the same patch of dirt suffer year-round, but those left outside in the scorching heat can actually be eaten alive by flies, fleas, mosquitoes, and other parasites,” says PETA Senior Vice President Daphna Nachminovitch. “PETA’s billboards remind caring guardians to protect dogs from heatstroke, flystrike, and even death by taking them inside where they belong.”

PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to abuse in any way”—notes that in addition to causing health and safety issues, keeping dogs chained or penned outside deprives them of the social interaction that they need, which can make them aggressive and nearly three times as likely to attack as dogs who are not kept chained.

For more information, please visit PETA.org.