99 People in 32 States to Live Chained to Doghouses to Seek Freedom for America's Neglected Canines

For Immediate Release

Contact: Tammy S. Grimes • founder, Dogs Deserve Better • www.dogsdeservebetter.org
Tammy@dogsdeservebetter.org • P.O. Box 23, Tipton, PA 16684 • 1.877.636.1408 • 814.941.7447
http://www.dogsdeservebetter.org/chainoff2007.html

99 People in 32 States to Live Chained to Doghouses
to Seek Freedom for America's Neglected Canines

Non-profit Dogs Deserve Better's "Unchain the 50"
Event runs Nationwide June 30th through July 8th




Tipton, PA — June 25, 2007 — Dogs Deserve Better, a national nonprofit working to end the suffering endured by dogs kept chained or penned for life, announced today that at least 99 people in 32 states and Canada will chain themselves to doghouses as part of the organization's Chain Off 2007 event, entitled "Unchain the 50."

Dogs Deserve Better has held its annual "Chain Off" around the July 4 holiday for the last 5 years in order to raise awareness about a practice that is still widely accepted, but increasingly recognized as one of the worst forms of abuse to which a dog can be subjected: keeping it chained or penned for its entire life.

"Unchain the 50" kicks off June 30 in Atlanta, Georgia and in Redmond, Washington, with 45 satellite "Chain Offs" running through July 8th. Participants will chain themselves to doghouses – some in their own yards – to stand against the practice of continual chaining.

"Living chained to a doghouse for 24 hours will be grueling and unimaginable for those of us who are so used to coming and going as we please," said Susan Hartland, organizer of the Atlanta and Seattle events and a Dogs Deserve Better area representative. "But the discomfort we will endure is nothing compared to the daily suffering of many of our nation's dogs who spend their entire lives at the end of a chain, living in a small patch of mud, their chains wrapped around a tree, baking in the summer sun or freezing in the winter cold."

Last year, California became the first state in the country to pass a statewide law specifically limiting the amount of time a dog may be tethered to a stationary object. Over 100 local governments across the United States have passed legislation in recent years that either bans or limits how long a dog may be chained, recognizing that existing animal welfare laws are outdated and that dogs are intelligent, social, active animals that suffer greatly if kept chained or penned for their lives.

Dogs Deserve Better founder Tammy S. Grimes will travel from Pennsylvania to live chained in Atlanta for 29 hours, along with representatives from Georgia, Illinois, South Carolina, Kentucky, Louisiana, Missouri, New York, Texas, and Vermont.

The event will also have representation in the following states: Arizona, Arkansas, California, Connecticut, Florida, Hawaii, Indiana, Kansas, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Utah, Virginia, Washington, Wisconsin, and British Columbia, Canada.

Dogs Deserve Better (www.dogsdeservebetter.org) is a 501c3 nonprofit organization headquartered in Tipton, Pennsylvania, is the 2003 First Place Winner of the ASPCA Pet Protector Award, and currently has over 150 area reps in 38 states as well as in Canada and France.