Operation Fido's Freedom: Dogs Deserve Better: No Chains

Day 54, Magnum Chain Art Word of the Day: What our hopes and dreams are,
what the chances of help for the dogs are, and what I am after today.

Day 54, October 14, 2010.
Operation Fido's Freedom.
I Am Gone

As fate would have it, Day 54 was a day of solid rain, from 9 a.m. throughout the entire day. I didn't know how I could make myself stay there for another tortuous day when it was pointless…but all the supporters reminded me of why I'm doing this…for the dogs, of course.

I wore two shirts, two sweaters, pantyhose, lined pants, boots, gloves, and a winter coat, and I was still soaked to the bone and shivering.

The press conference was in the pouring rain, but I still had reporters there from the Patriot News, Channel 27, Channel 43, and Channel 8 came at 5:00 p.m. for a live report.

Below is the statement I read at the conference:

I am Tamira Thayne, dog activist, founder and CEO of Dogs Deserve Better, and I have spent 52 days chained to a doghouse on these Capitol steps. That's one day for each week of the year Pennsylvania dogs spend chained in backyards, suffering chewed up ears from flystrike in the summer heat, embedded collars from owners who fail to even notice the puppy has grown into a dog, frozen nights without so much as a flap on the door of their doghouse or a sliver of straw to warm the cold ground, and heatstroke when they can find not a patch of shade or a drop of water to cool them.

I could never say I've suffered as they have, for each night at 6:00 p.m. I got to return to a hotel where I spent the next 14 hours before becoming a dog again.

I have endured many things out here, however, the pouring rain we're experiencing right now being one of them, and I've endured it repeatedly. I have worn no rain gear, or used no umbrella, but have stayed wet for up to ten hours as do those dogs who cannot fit into their houses or have no house. I created no false shade when it was over 100 degree heat index, even though I began to suffer heatstroke on two different occasions, experiencing headaches, nausea, and stomach aches before receiving a cold drink which helped me to recover.

I ate rarely while on the chain, and I drank sparingly much of the time.

Through all this I attempted to bring the suffering of Man's Best Friend to the legislators at the Capitol, legislators who may not have to witness this form of abuse on a daily basis due to living privileged lives in privileged settings.

Settings where they do not have to witness the daily suffering of the chained dog, and therefore do not understand how painful it is for the dog, for the kindly neighbors who have to witness the abuse, and for the children who are attacked by these same dogs who are not socialized with humans and become more and more territorial and aggressive.

During the short time I have been chained on the Capitol steps, three children in Pennsylvania made the papers from chained dog attacks. The worst attack, on Alaha Crutchfield, 6, of McKeesport described her as being 'nearly scalped' by the dog who broke his chain to attack.

The need for a tethering law is not going away; dogs and children will continue to perish over the winter and into the spring, and we will be back next session to make sure meaningful tethering legislation is passed.

I apologize to the chained dogs of Pennsylvania on behalf of the state legislature, for they have once again ignored your plight despite the fact that I gave it my very all. I apologize to the people who have to live next door to a barking chained dog, and have to experience not only the aggravation of nightly noise when they are trying to sleep, but also the pain of knowing that dog is out there suffering and possibly dying in the extremes of hot and cold temperatures. And I apologize to the children and parents of mauled/injured children and the parents of children killed by chained dogs. You will remain in my thoughts, and I implore you to stand with me next session to make these legislators understand that socializing our dogs with humans must be done on behalf of the children as well as the dogs.

Dogs enhance our lives and protect us everyday, from assisting us as seeing eye and therapy dogs, to protecting the public at airports, protecting police officers, and protecting our troops at war. It is ridiculous that the state of Pennsylvania cannot provide some basic protections from the cruel practice of continuous tethering.

Continuous tethering is passive cruelty and neglect. Continuous tethering is not as overtly obvious as someone beating a dog – but continuous tethering is as equally cruel. Pennsylvania must do something to protect the dogs and the children from the dangerous impacts of 24-7, 365 days a year tethering.

Most dogs who live for 11 years will spend over 96,000 hours on a chain, with little to no hope of ever attaining freedom. This is 96,000 too many. This abuse of our Best Friends must stop.

Me with Darryl, a new supporter I met while at the Capitol

Joe left work early to be there for me before my last day ended.

The dry spot where my house used to be :(

******

I will be taking a tour of the Capitol tomorrow before I go home, because I've watched thousands of people go by me to take the tour since I've been chained at the bottom of the steps. Then I will go home, hug my dogs, and have dinner with my kids. I will clean my house (unless you want to volunteer?) and I will get back to work. We have dogs to free!

Find your Senator and House Rep at: http://www.legis.state.pa.us/
Please contact them TODAY and tell them “I’m here for their law.”
Remember, they work FOR us. Insist that they support SB1435.

I will be actively blogging, facebooking, and tweeting daily from my chain.
To follow me, fan me, or read the nightly blog, check out the links below:

Follow the campaign, Operation Fidos Freedom on:

Can you donate for this campaign which aims to save tens of thousands of dogs from life at the end of the chain? To donate by phone, call 814.941.7447.

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