Amended Post: See note at bottom in red if you would like to be considered for the prize.
Grab your tissues and sing Donna Hughes' song with me:
Nothing to look forward to
Watching cars go by all day
Nothing to play with, nothing to do
Shivering in the cold hard rain
They forget to bring me water
They forget that I am here
They don't know how smart I am
They don't even see my tears
What did I do wrong, what did I do?
I just want someone to love me, because I love you
Whatever it is I did wrong, maybe I can change
No one knows how hard it is, how hard it is to be. . . a dog on a 10 foot chain
Sometimes it's hard to stay cool
On a blazing hot summer day
I dream of crossing the stream
And catching a fish as the sunlight fades
It's hard to stay warm in the winter
Some nights it's hard to be strong
I dream of chasing butterflies
And rabbits all day long
Bridge:
The world is big and beautiful
But I'll never see it all
Maybe when I go to Heaven
Someone will throw me a red ball
Did you love this? Please share it. Here's some help on Twitter. Just click the RT button:
Sing along with @AllThingsDog as we spread the word about #NoChainedDogs:
Dog on a 10 Foot Chain http://t.co/evyMrMci4S
— Carrie Boyko (@AllThingsDog) February 6, 2014
I'll toss you a bone for incentive. I have a beautiful reddish-orange collar and leash avaialable to one winner who leaves a well thought out idea for helping to get the word out--something that is doable, not expensive, and can easily be employed by many of us. Turn on your creative switch! All entries by comment below will be considered. The idea deemed the best by one of my rescue friends will be named the winner.
Entries will be accepted through midnight Thursday, February 20. I'll announce the winning idea and the winner on Friday, February 21.
Tanner is modeling the prize. The collar is adjustable and will fit most medium to large dogs. If a small dog owner wins, I'll substitute a lighter weight leash. A petite or extra large dog will receive the leash alone, and the collar will find another home where it is useful. Good luck and thank you for putting on your thinking caps!
Note to participants: Please leave a form of contact (preferably not your email) so that I may locate you if you win. Try Twitter, Facebook, Google+. Finally, you can email me at AllThingsDogBlog@gmail.com so that I'll be able to find you that way. Thank you and good luck! You're doing a great job generating ideas. Keep up the good work.
Note to participants: Please leave a form of contact (preferably not your email) so that I may locate you if you win. Try Twitter, Facebook, Google+. Finally, you can email me at AllThingsDogBlog@gmail.com so that I'll be able to find you that way. Thank you and good luck! You're doing a great job generating ideas. Keep up the good work.
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17 comments:
Collie222 said...
I hate to see a dog chained...or kept in a dog pen...for it's entire life. Dogs should be part of the family, or you shouldn't have one.
Unknown said...
Hi Carrie!
This song was so beutiful and of course, very sad. I love animals and I get so depressed when I think too much about all the bad stuff going on in this world. I was in South Korea as an exchange student and discovered how they treated their dogs. I've been thinking alot about what we can do for this particular case, and I think it all goes back to the owner who has somehow lost interest in the dog.
According to PETA, there are things we can do if we wanna help a chained dog (http://www.peta.org/issues/companion-animal-issues/cruel-practices/chaining-dogs/helping-chained-dogs/). If the dog is in very bad shape - call a rescue center. If the dog is okay (not very sick or injured etc) the jour team will probably not take the dog and you will risk to make the owner upset and not be able to come back to the dog. What you can do instead is to build up a relationship with the owner. Come back often, ask for permission to give the dog water, treats and toys. Ask if you can take the dog for walks. Give compliments about the dog in order to make the owner opening his/her eyes and appreciating the dog again. Do this regularly and see if the owner changes a little bit everyday. If the dog owner not care at all, ask him/her if you can take the dog for a while and give the owner some time to think about the situation. Maybe the owner starts missing the dog and decides to change. If the dog owner not want the dog back, keep it (or go with it to a rescue center if you don't have the possibility to keep it).
My solution is to make a smartphone application where all these steps are included in some kind of list so that you know exactly what to do if you see a chained dog. There should be a map that makes you able to point out chained dogs that need to be taken care of, and a way to write about the progress for each case. This is an international application that all dog caring persons need to know about and use, and therefore, we need to send individual messages to all dog-blogging persons etc.
If you think this sounds like a good idea, I'm more than willing work with the concept development and the interaction such as prototyping and user testing (although I'm not a developer so the coding needs to be done by someone else, maybe from PETA?).
Lots of love
Jenny
www.equalpaws.blogspot.com
Sandrine T. said...
A picture is worth a thousand words. A series of comic strip to share on social media (Facebook, Twitter, etc.) could reach a large number of people, young and old, and help educate the public about chained dogs. For example, this short comic strip particularly touched me: http://www.unchainyourdog.org/Mutts-GuardDog-Free.jpg I feel for all these dogs who live with little to no human attention.
evie said...
it makes me sad...i think of the picture of the dog on facebook that froze to death b/c the owner left him outside.
Linda Meyers-Gabbard said...
I can't stand to see any animal tied that shouldn't be. It kills me to see them in the heat and in the cold.
Post on all the social medias. Make a printable flier that we can put on the mailboxes of the offenders. The expense would be on our end. We print them we can post them on bulletin board in our community.
while your at it you could make printable fliers about the horrors of leaving pets in hot cars. We can put them on windshields and such.
Unknown said...
i hate see that to if i see an animal mistreated i call the authorities and let them handle the people also maybe she could try to pass a law where there are stiffer penalties for miss treatment i have a wonderful lab/pit cross that was abused he is the best dog and it feels rewarding to rescue an animal that would not have a good life good luck in your end-ever keep us posted in your efforts
Em Mahr said...
I think hitting social media might help - posting sad pictures of dogs chained up. We've all seen those commercials where they show sad, abused pets and they break hearts. What if you/we did something similar, but on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, etc. to get the word out. Perhaps posting articles in local papers might help too.
Linda Szymoniak said...
The sad thing is, those who chain their dogs outside honestly don't care about what it does to the dogs. We've had to deal with the polar vortex here in Indiana (I'm up in the NW corner, by Chicago) and I'm heartbroken at the fact that a number of dogs froze to death here in Indiana during this time. What we need to do is to educate CHILDREN as they will grow up to be adults who own dogs (and will hopefully keep them cozy and warm inside in winter and never 24/7 on a chain no matter the weather). Children are also good at teaching their parents and at getting their way, which could include convincing the parents to unchain the dogs. Of course, laws against chaining would be the best thing - as long as those laws were actually enforced. Too many animal abusers getting away with no punishment these days.
Katie said...
I read somewhere that their is a program that sends a coupon for a dog treat or dog food to dogs with chained dogs with a little note, also near me their is a program that talks to dog owners and helps get dogs off the chain, they are called chained inc.
Unknown said...
i would say start a petition on a petition site. like change.org. and anyway, making the petition is free. but if you want it "out There" you can pay different amounts for more publicity. so if you want a lot of publicity, the more you pay,,,for publicity i think the prices are : $5-$100 i think. plus, ask your fans to pin it on Pinterest ( i know i would) tweet it on Twitter & share it on Facebook. or put up posters about it. like in pet stores and places where lots of people go. like by a rest room. Gas stations, etc. ask big brands to sponsor you, I think Coca Cola would sponsor, because they already sponsor arctic animals. If theres a will, theres a way. t shirts, rubber bracelets with the slogan, other merchandise. i would really consider asking brands.. Good Luck & God Bless
Helga said...
I would suggest creating a colorful infographic on the statistics of chained dogs vs. well cared for dogs with proper housing. Longevity, health, disease risks, mental health would be topics I would include.
nicolesender said...
I think educating pet owners as to better alternatives to chaining a dog would help. Efforts through local humane societies and vets would be useful. The pet food industry could use this as an issue to promote.
Dawn said...
I was raised in a family with an " outside" dog chained to a dog house everday and night. Now that Im older I can see how lonely and unhealthy it was. My husband and I swore never to do it again but on my street alone there are at least four " outside" dogs.
Anonymous said...
So sad breaks my heart
Unknown said...
We have two dogs and they are big dogs - and love to run. I hate seeing dogs chained up - Social Media has been great to bring awareness of this cause. My email is: conniet729@gmail.com
Michelle Spayde said...
Hi Carrie,
I don't know how I missed this post. I'm fortunate enough to live in a county where tethering is punishable by a fine. Here's a link to our county's brochure on tethering. http://www.pinellascounty.org/animalservices/pdf/Break-the-Chain.pdf
evie said...
evie-sandyandevie@yahoo.com, already left comment
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