PETA: It’s time for NC to turn up the heat on people who leave dogs to suffer
When PETA fieldworkers found Remy, his tether was so tangled he couldn’t reach the doghouse or water bucket that PETA had provided for him. He could only pant desperately in the scorching North Carolina sun as his internal temperature climbed dangerously high.
Elsewhere in North Carolina, Tiny, tan Chico had only a flimsy airline crate full of holes for “shelter.” His water bowl contained thick mud, his food bowl only dirt. He cowered as fieldworkers tried to pluck off the ticks that covered his body.
Coco, a gentle brown pit bull, had been deprived of water for so long that when fieldworkers cleaned and filled her bucket, she gulped water for over a minute and a half.
These are just a few of the desperate dogs PETA’s Community Animal Project fieldworkers have helped this summer in North Carolina as temperatures reach record-breaking levels. The state’s only existing law to protect dogs from cruelty is weak, vague and decades behind those of other states, including Virginia and Texas.
It’s long past time to ban the cruel practice of keeping dogs chained or confined outside in all weather in North Carolina and everywhere else.
Our fieldworkers deliver sturdy custom-built wooden dog houses to canines without adequate protection from the elements, clean and fill algae-covered and empty water buckets, provide food for famished dogs whose owners often just throw old kibble or scraps on the ground, treat flea and tick infestations, and more. They do all they can to make the lives of “outdoor dogs” less miserable, including urging owners to let them live inside or give them a chance to be adopted by someone who will treat them as a member of the family instead of a cheap alarm system.
But when owners refuse and there are no effective laws to protect dogs from the neglect inherent in being forced to live at the end of a chain or in a tiny cage 24/7, law enforcement’s hands are tied. Fieldworkers can only talk to owners about basic animal care and return as often as possible to attend to these neglected animals’ basic needs. In the meantime, they suffer day after day.
Our staffers routinely find forgotten dogs dead or dying from heat stroke on sweltering summer days, from hypothermia in the winter or from starvation, dehydration, anemia, heartworm disease and more year-round. Without strong laws to prevent such cruelty, the people who leave these animals to die in agony often pay only a small fine — if they’re punished at all — and are free to acquire more animals who will likely endure similar horrific fates.
At least 65 municipalities in North Carolina have either banned 24/7 chaining or passed laws requiring that animals have at least a sturdy shelter, clean water and species-appropriate food within reach. Raleigh, Chapel Hill, Burlington and Asheville are some of the cities that have updated their laws to outlaw or severely restrict dog tethering.
There is broad public support for these vital, life-saving measures. However, the distressing cases mentioned above — and the many others that PETA fieldworkers document daily — prove that piecemeal regulations aren’t enough.
North Carolina needs a strong statewide law. Let’s get one passed.
Daphna Nachminovitch is the senior vice president of cruelty investigations for PETA. She lives in Norfolk, Virginia.
