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| Chain Off 2008 - THE BARK BOX - THE DEN - Canine Corner | ||||||||||||||
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Robi Pack Leader 
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For better treatment of dogs, two sit out all day
On TV, The Simpsons' family dog spends most of his summers tethered to a stake in the ground. He digs all the grass up in a circle shape around the stake. The show is making light of this cartoon dog's relentless spunk and instinct to bury things but two women from Ripley are doing their part to let people know that tethering a dog is no laughing matter. Last July, 108 animal advocates in Chicago chained themselves to doghouses for a day to experience what it's like to be stuck in the hot sun all day long. Puppies are cute but they get bigger and need lots of attention. Sometimes people get dogs when they're young but then when they get older they might try to keep them out of sight for longer and longer periods of time. People tie up their dogs to keep them under control and out of the way. One organization, Dogs Deserve Better, was created to raise funds and awareness for chained and penned dogs. Now in its sixth year, the chain off is all about treating dogs like they're part of the family and keeping them in the house. Robin Gibbs sees all sorts of dogs working in Ripley's Community Canine Rescue and Adoption Center. She owns six of her own and is currently boarding 10 more for the CCRA. She doesn't have anything against putting a dog out for a short time. She just doesn't want to see dogs neglected. "Dogs are pack animals. They need to socialize and, like people, they have preferences and dislikes. They're way more trusting than people and grateful. The dogs at the shelter express so much happiness for the attention they get." Some people think that dogs are treated too much like people; others are willing to act more like dogs because they don't want to seem them mistreated. In solidarity with mutt and animal advocates across America, Penny Gummo and Gibbs got sunburned and sweaty, sitting in the hot sun in the front yard of a Fourth Street house all day with chains attached to a doghouse around their necks. "And dogs don't have books and cell phones to keep them busy," Gummo said. A point they wanted to make was that they do this willingly. Some dogs are forced to do it for weeks or even years. To experience what it feels like to be a neglected dog, the two sat in the grass and dispensed information about why tethering dogs is inhumane to the dogs and poses a danger to people. Dogs probably don't understand that they got chained up and left outside because they have an appetite for furniture or went to the bathroom in the house. The animal advocates wanted people to know that it's damaging to the family greyhound's psyche whether it's a punishment or a way to keep the animal out of your hair for a while. Canine psychology They talked about pack animals and that their consciousness thrives on constant attention and the need to socialize. An information sheet full of facts against chaining dogs presented the argument that a dog's fight or flight response activates when threatened. If an animal's escape is prevented, it will use the only other option. Gibbs said that a dog tethered and left alone will go "stir-crazy". People train dogs to be aggressive; police will train dogs to go after a runner and attack. Nazi dogtrainers, according to Gummo, would starve their dogs and keep food just out of reach to make them as vicious as possible. Keeping dogs outside because they've been bad doesn't teach them to be good. "Dogs feel emotions too," Gummo said, "how are we teaching them to act by keeping them chained up all day. After five-and-a-half hours Robin Gibbs did what dogs can't do: put on sunblock. After being outside all that time Gummo and Gibbs were hot, tired, sweaty and sunburned. "Thank God we don't have to do this every day," Gibbs said. "Really, it's uncomfortable and monotonous. Any creature or person could go crazy, chained up like this all day long. Because dogs aren't always treated humanely, Gummo and Gibbs take part in this chain-off and treat themselves like dogs. While people are thinking about independence and freedom, others are seeing what it's like to be subjugated to the opposite. By THOMAS SCHWARTZ POSTED: July 6, 2008
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