Child-Abuse Chaining Case Prompts Billboard Asking For Protection For Dogs

PETA Offers Tips for Keeping Dogs Indoors With the Family, as Chaining Is Cruel to All Living Beings

For Immediate Release:
May 5, 2016

Contact:
Megan Wiltsie 202-483-7382

On Friday, two toddlers were discovered tied up outside a San Antonio home: One was chained to the ground, and the other was tied to a door with a dog leash. PETA is now negotiating with local outdoor advertisers to erect a billboard that shows a chained dog next to the words “No One Belongs on a Chain. Love and Respect All Living Beings.”

“The billboard is a reminder to show love, respect, and compassion to all living beings, especially the most vulnerable, like children, the elderly, and animals,” says PETA President Ingrid Newkirk. “PETA’s billboard points out that dogs are sometimes forgotten on their chains and, as a result, suffer from loneliness, embedded collars, inadequate shelter, and more—but one call to authorities can change their lives.”

PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to abuse in any way”—notes that dogs who are chained outdoors spend their entire lives eating, sleeping, and eliminating in the same few square feet of space. Chaining dogs deprives these pack animals of the social interaction that they need, which can make them aggressive—and nearly three times as likely to attack.

PETA supports humane, interactive dog training that teaches guardians positive ways to communicate with their animal companions and vice versa. Dogs should live indoors with the rest of the family. When guardians are away from home for extended periods during the day, humane options include hiring a dog walker, leaving the dog with someone who is at home, using doggie daycare, or installing a “doggie door” to give dogs appropriate access to safely fenced-in backyards.

For more information, please visit PETA.org or click here.