Day 5 Alabama—Too Young to Be a Mother!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2DTWjWyj5oU
The theme of the Dognamic Duo’s presence in Alabama is “Spay and Neuter” or “Too Young to Be a Mother”. This theme goes for both the young women and the dogs we met. Practically everywhere we stopped we found pregnant or nursing dogs with pregnant or nursing caretakers; all too young to be in their condition.
This morning we drove to Alabama to meet with Sonya who was kind enough to put Tammy and me up in her beautiful home, feed us and let me sleep in the bunk bed with the fluffy giant teddy bear. Sonya and Linda Morgan took us on an expedition in search of Alabama chained dogs. We stopped at the home of a pregnant young woman with two dogs she chained together to keep them in the yard. Cooper, the Husky mix, was a wanderer and the other was a homebody so their caretaker thought maybe if she chained them together the stay-at-home dog would detour the drifter from meandering. She was very kind and invited us into her home and around her yard. We offered her a fencing application and she agreed that a fence and a doggie door would solve many of her problems and make her home more accessible to her dogs.
The next family we met had a penned pit in the yard. The pregnant young wife asked her husband to come to the door and he told us the dog used to live in the house. They had another dog sitting on the couch watching television with them. When asked why the one dog was in a pen and the other was in the house the man told us that the pit “got too big for the house” and started knocking things around. Tammy asked them it they thought the Bulldog was bigger than they were because they were allowed in the house. The question flew over their heads. We left them information, treats, a collar and leash so they could take their dog for a walk and moved on.
We stopped at a house in the middle of nowhere and met a white chained Pit Bull named Dixie. Dixie a recent mother herself was lonely for attention; her puppies had all been given away. Dixie’s intense coughing caused us to be concerned about the possible presence of heartworm. Further out in the yard we spied a chained little pup, the tether tangled so taut around the base of a tree the pup was unable to move. Another dog came walking up; she had puppies in the back under the house. Angie, a gracious young 5th grade girl came out of the house to greet us. We thanked her for taking the time to talk with us but asked her to be more careful of whom she approached in the future. We left treats, puppy kits, collars and leashes. She took information from us to give to her mother. Angie went straight to feeding and watering the dogs as we were leaving. All the dogs were dying of thirst.
We visited with a little Weiner dog, obviously NOT “too big for house” but still left outside on a small trolley system. When we gave the Dachshund a squeaky toy his little tail went wild. The next trailer we approached had a chained Pit Bull in the yard and another roaming loose. Neither of these dogs had water and both were so happy to see us. On down the road we ran into another young woman who was interested in the idea of fencing and a doggie door for her Pit Bull named Bryor. Next there was the chained Pit Bull with the “Beware of Dog” sign and the Pit Bull wearing a shock collar with invisible fencing that encompassed about a 20x20 area. The invisible fencing dog had two empty bowls and a hole in the roof of his plastic dog house. The only thing dangerous about any of these sweet dogs was their irresponsible caretakers.
We ended at a trailer with a chained Pit Bull on a trolley. The whole family came out to greet us. The daughter was carrying a baby doll, one of those they give school children to teach them how much work having a baby is. Tammy said to her, “I’ll bet that makes you not want to have kids.” The girl replied, “I’m having one in October.” I’m thinking maybe the school system should start that program a little earlier.
Dogs and people started coming out from all over the place at that trailer. Then we found there were 4 puppies in a shed. The chubby little wrinkle faced pups were in desperate need of socialization.
I used to feel that people were being facetious when they said they thought “No Chains” meant the dogs were to be left free to run at large, but during our travels we have seen quite a few dogs running at large and we realize that this is more of a problem than we originally imagined. Tammy explained that there are two sides of the “Irresponsible Owners Spectrum”; on one end you have dogs running at large and the other you have dogs being chained 24/7 for their entire lives. The middle ground, which is desirable, includes your dog living in the home, with proper fencing and/or walking your dog on a leash.
We ended the evening with a speaking engagement and met some wonderful people in Alabama’s rescue world. We very easily found 36 chained dogs in Alabama bringing our total to 228 in only 5 days.
Alabama proved to be a beautiful state full of friendly people, but like everywhere else, not a great place to be a chained or penned dog. A special thank you to Linda Morgan and the Cullman Area Animal Welfare Association (CAAWA) for their offer to follow up on the animals we met with today.
Tomorrow should be peachy as we head for Georgia bright and early in the A.M.
Diary of Dawn, Day Six, Georgia: It's All About Fight or Flight
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nfy1758gT3g
Tammy and I said goodbye to Alabama and voyaged along a two-lane highway all the way to Georgia. We counted 61 more chained/penned dogs left outside alone and sad as we passed through the country areas, even stopping to pass out information despite the fact that we had to get to the next state...we just couldn't help ourselves!
In Georgia we passed out information and talked with dog caretakers. We spoke with a Hispanic man and met his chained German Shepherd named King, another adorable looking dog with a lazy ear. The dog was in desperate need of fresh water and food, a privilege most chained dogs don’t often receive. King sat up and begged and wagged his tail. I said, “Aww! How sweet!” Little did I know the dog was begging for me to come closer so he could take a bite out of me! King took a piece of my ear and afterward his guardian proclaimed, “Be careful that dog is mean.” Neither Tammy nor I read the aggression in his demeanor or actions, until the obvious of course. I don’t think King would have been violent off of the chain, but guarding the small terriority had made him that way. I still managed to get him fresh water and food; it's mentally draining enough without walking away leaving a dog without food and water. I refused treatment because I felt the wound wasn't too bad and I didn't want King turned in for a dog bite. Tammy and I braked at the nearest service station to stop the bleeding and clean the wound.
Further into Georgia we stopped at a home with two terribly scared Pit Bulls. The female was so frightened she cowered and both Tammy's and my heart shattered. The little girl was pregnant by her yardmate, Kilo. The owner had both dogs in a pen together when they mated; he said it wasn’t on purpose. Now each dog is chained separately in the yard. Kilo was appropriately standing in front of a football. This is Atlanta Falcon’s territory after all and Kilo seemed to understand he was in Michael Vick’s stomping grounds. We wondered if he'd chew up the football and spit it out to pass along his opinion of this treatment of dogs? One could hope.
Next we came across a yard full of chained and penned Pit Bulls. “Beware of Dog” and “No Trespassing” signs gave the breeder’s residence away. Seven chained and God only knows how may penned dogs were on the property. The breeder said the dogs sell for $250.00 a piece and up. We see them put down daily in shelters across the country, but home grown Pit Bulls are still being bred and sold, just to end up in someone else's backyard, dead in the fighting ring, or dead in the shelter system. We pray they will not kill others along the way. Left alone and completely unsocialized, their anger can sometimes turn outward against their imprisoners or other innocents who cross their path. Can we as a society blame them for what is only a reaction to our ignorance and abuse? We've really got to put a stop to our barbaric practices that allow such things to continue.
Just across the road from the Pit Bull plantation was a neighbor, a pleasant young woman who has her Boxer and Chihuahua in a beautiful fenced in yard. The dogs looked lovely, they sleep inside and have their own beds. The caretaker said that others in the neighborhood thought she was crazy for keeping her dogs indoors. We think she is the only responsible one on the block. Her dogs ran up and down the fence and through the yard happily as the Pit Bulls across the street kept their position in the dirt so miserable most of them didn’t even bother to move.
Fight or Flight, when the flight ability is removed from the dog’s scenario the fight instinct is all that remains. Even veteran rescuers are often bitten during these times; approaching a chained dog should be done very cautiously and still the dogs are often hard to read.
"Every forty seconds, someone is presented to an emergency room in the U.S. for dog bite related injury. About sixty percent of the victims are children.” - College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Minnesota, Dog Bite Facts, June 2004.
“Never tether or chain your dog because this can contribute to aggressive behavior.” - American Veterinary Medical Association, Safety Tips for Dog Owners, JAVMA News, May 15, 2003
"A chained dog is 2.8 times more likely to bite." - Gershman, Sacks, and Wright, Which Dogs Bite? A Case-Control Study of Risk Factors, Pediatrics, Vol.93 No. 6, June 1994.
These are just a few of the statistics we discuss as we make our way through the state of Georgia.
36 dogs in Alabama and 61 more on the way out of the state. Into Georgia we counted 57 chained/penned dogs bringing our overall total 346 by Day 6, already almost 6X higher than our ten dog per state goal! We're now halfway through our journey, not knowing what day it is or or where we are most the time. Tammy realized today was Friday and we both were shocked!
We met with our favorite "pick-me-up" Rep, Pam Cheatham in Atlanta. Thank you Pam for taking the time to meet with us and lift our spirits!
South Carolina in a few hours....I hope I don't fall asleep with my shoes on again! This trip is starting to take a toll on us, both physically and emotionally. We're starting the second half of the journey today, and we hope we can make it through to the end. Thanks for staying with us...your support bouys us up and keeps us going. Don't stop! We need you behind us.
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