· Why do they keep the dog on a chain?
This is always to first and most frequently question we are asked. The truth is the owners of a chained dog do love their dogs. We realize this is a very hard concept to accept. But if you grew up in these super impoverished neighborhoods and all you have ever known is chained dogs, well it is just the normal way to keep a dog. They have never seen anything else. Their entire extended family and friends all keep dogs on chains.
· Do they care about the dog?
The truth is the chained dog is a very deeply loved member of their family. Let me tell you a story to help you try to understand:
In the super impoverished neighborhoods, suffering is just a way of life. There are very few pleasures in such an uncomfortable existence. Most live with no air conditioning, running water, no mattresses, no fluffy pillows, no clean soft sheets, no regular fresh healthy meals, no pretty toys….so into a world of such despair, a litter of puppies is born. These puppies are a small piece of joy. The puppies are cherished and celebrated, it’s like Christmas in June. It really does not matter that most of the puppies will die from malnutrition, disease, or heat/cold…in those moments the puppies are the sun in a dark, miserable life.
Soon, the puppies start wandering away from the chained Mom. They start seeking food and water from the many piles of trash. They are skinny, covered in fleas most suffering from mange, many with open wounds. Some residence abuse the puppies because they are begging for food.
Soon the “DOG LOVER” of the neighborhood comes along and they take mercy on the puppy. A well-meaning human takes the poor puppy home. They tie the pup up with whatever they can find and feed her whatever rotten leftovers they have in the refrigerator, or what they can dig out of the trash.
Then a dog rescuer drives by and curse the evil monster that has a starved, puppy chained!! We post pictures on facebook that enrages the public and incites a riot. We call for the owners to be beat! But the truth is they are suffering too, and this is all they know. When you grow up in these super impoverished neighborhoods, this is truly all you know. Most are truly doing their best to provide for this puppy and they truly love the puppy.
· Doesn’t Texas have a State law that prevents dogs from being chained?
No. In 2007 Texas passed guidelines on “unattended tethering” dogs: no tethering dog from 10pm-5am, no unattended tethering for more than 4 hours, must have 10ft of unobstructed room to move, no chains as collars…BUT because the law is so poorly written all of the agencies charged with enforcing these laws have concluded the law is unenforceable. And trust us, we have screamed until we were expelled from most agencies that refuse to even try to enforce the law.
THLN.org has filed a new proposed law SB295, and this will get rid of the “24 hour warning before the ACO can ticket the owner”, and does away with the a set time limit. But is still must be enforced. We still need the city and counties to increase the funding for more animal control workers, but we all know Houston is already threatening to lay off city workers to pay for the firefighters equal pay.
Does The City of Houston have any ordnances that set guidelines for “unattended tethering”?
Yes, however, the city of Houston has a massive stray population and is number one for bite cases against postal workers. We only have 6 animal control workers to cover 627 sq miles and they only have time to investigate severe animal abuse or bite cases. There is no desire to enforce any of the local city ordinances in regards to the hundreds of thousands chained dogs. And there is no chance of Houston passing a “No tether ban” that would create more strays or bite cases. We still need to put pressure on the city to do more to protect these dogs.
· What is the solution?
Spay-Spay-Spay!!!! For all of Houston’s advances on providing free or low cost spay/neuter events…we are still missing the residences in these super impoverished neighborhoods. Most owners H4M works with lack any transportation. We have many chained dog owners that are willing to have their dog spayed (no one agrees to neuter) but can absolutely not get the dog to any appointments. But the free events REQUIRE the owner to be physically at the event to sign the waiver. WE NEED TO BRING THE SPAY APPOINTMENTS TO THEM!!! H4M offers a free spay including transportation to and from the appointments, but we can only do a tiny, tiny fraction of what is needed.
*one local organization doing great work is “Empty the Shelter Project-Houston” which provides free spay/neuter for 400+ cats/dogs in one day! They are trying to find a way to reach the chained dogs in these super impoverished areas.
· What should you do if you see a chained dog with little or no shelter?
This is not an easy question to answer. But know the law. Per the Director of Animal Control “unless the dog is a body condition of 2 or less, we will try to educate first”. If you call the ACO/Taskforce and they show up but can’t do anything, you will never be allowed to go onto the property to help the dog. We are all outraged at what is allowed to happen to these dogs, but the ultimate goal is to help the dogs.
In Texas a dog is a possession. We truly are only allowed to go onto the property IF the owner agrees. At any point the owner can throw us off the property, and refuse us access to the dogs.
· How can you help?
Support your LOCAL dog rescues! There is a large network of local dog lovers that have dedicated their entire existence to help Houston’s dogs. These groups work tirelessly to save every dog they can, but the problem is enormous. We need more fosters, more people willing to transport, more people to go to city council meetings, more people to go out in these impoverished areas and offer resources, not judgement.
Houston Huts 4 Mutts is dedicated to this cause and strives daily to empower more citizens to take up our cause.
