My Wake Up Call    ~Sheri-lyn Shepler                       

September 5th, 2009

A few months back while attending an event in St. Petersburg, FL I stumbled upon 2 chained dogs while walking to my friends car to leave for home. My fear of any dog in misery forced me to case the yard where they were being held captive. One of the dogs, a dingy White German Shepherd, lay in a bed of dirt, chained to an old clothes pole. There was no dog house or place of shelter except the large tree that shaded him during what I could only assume were verylong, hot, horrible days spent alone. He didn’t act fearful or aggressive, in fact, he really didn’t show any emotion at all, but still, I hesitated to approach him in case my intentions were mistaken.

I noticed a bucket of water next to a make-shift garage and a big deep hole dug in the dirt where he obviously sought protection from the weather. It was very clear he didn’t seek or receive any form of it from the humans that lived there. I decided to knock on the front door of the house to see if anyone answered, in hopes of talking some sense into whoever allowed him to live this way. On my way up the side of the run down house, I came upon the second chained dog. This one was just a pup.

I spoke to her softly since it was too late to back out of her charging zone. But, she wasn’t the charging type it seemed. She wiggled her tail though she had a resistance of trust on her face. I coaxed her out from under the rusted barbeque grill she used for shelter. She kissed and cuddled with me just long enough for me to know that I must somehow save these dogs. But how? Before I could finish the rundown in my mind of things I could do to help her and the Shepherd out back, the owner came around the side of the house to see what I was doing in her yard. She was a nice young girl that said she loved her dog but didn’t let her in the house because of fleas. I quickly explained that flea treatments were readily available but I got no response from her. I asked about the Shepherd in the back and her response was, “I don’t know much about him, it’s my grandma’s dog.” I asked his age and she said he was about five years old. I thought, Five years left on a chain in the heat, forgotten in a yard of dirt? How does someone allow this? She told me he was kept for protection. Protection? He’s on a chain. What could he possibly do to protect anyone? Right then, she scooped up the pup I had been playing with, disconnected the chain and walked to the front of her house; I followed her. I tried to tell her both dogs deserved so much better than what she was offering. She seemed to understand, but I knew 5 minutes of lecturing from a stranger would not be taken to heart. I made her promise to do better by those dogs, she agreed and shut the door. I drove away feeling sick to my stomach.

Months have gone by since I first came across these sad little souls. The thought of them suffering has kept me up many nights. What could I do to help? I returned to check on them a few times but being new to the area, I was unsure of exactly where I had been. What would I do if I found them again?

I decided to do some research and found an organization called Dogs Deserve Better (www.dogsdeservebetter.org), a nonprofit organization dedicated to freeing the chained dog, and bringing our ‘best friends’ into the home and family. I found out what to do, got the phone number of the Tampa Bay area Representative and grabbed a camera in order to document any wrong doings. With proof of the abuse, they could be rescued legally and placed in proper care, away from a chain.....if I so happened to locate them.

Well, Today I finally found them.

My stomach dropped when I drove by what I remembered to be the house where the dogs were kept.

The picnic table in the front yard, the dirt on the side where the pup was chained.....yes, it was definitely the house. I came up the back side like I did the first time and grabbed my camera. Foliage had grown bigger around the area so I had to almost lay down to see in the yard, but there was no White German Shepherd anywhere in sight. I saw the chain, the bucket and the hole, but no dog. My stomach dropped again.

I decided to check on the pup. She was still there and still on a chain under the barbeque trying to stay cool. But, she wasn’t the sweet little pup that licked my face and wiggled her butt at the sight of me. She was now a very clearly miserable and angry little girl - a solid black Chihuahua mix I believe. She barked, snarled and lunged at me from her chain so I backed off and went back to my car, in the alley behind the house. I decided to go to the front of the house to find out exactly what was going on.

I saw who was probably the grandmother the young girl spoke of when we met a few months ago. Nervously, I pulled to the curb, rolled down my window and politely asked if she used to have a White Shepherd out back. She came off the porch and into the front yard and said she used to but the dog died.

“WHAT?” “DIED?” “HOW?”, I asked, trying to keep my composure. She said the dog had died of Heartworm. Then she said that she had loved the dog and missed him. WHAT? I was shocked that the word love could possibly enter into her statement. I was disgusted that I hadn’t found him sooner. And I was angry for what she didn’t do to give him a good life. I should have spoken up right then and told her how awful she was, what a horrible pet parent she was, how heartworm is preventable and treatable if caught in time, that it was her fault that her beautiful dog was dead...but I didn’t. The woman was soft spoken, sweet and clearly had absolutely no idea that she did wrong by this dog - or that she’s doing wrong by the one that lives on the side of the house. She never asked how I knew about the dog, why I was nosing around her yard or even who I was and why I cared. I said I was sorry about her dog and I drove away.

I cried for a moment and realized there are still so many people out there that quite simply, just don’t know any better. I wish I had found them sooner. I wish I could do something for the young pup that will most certainly live the same sad, sick and lonely life the White Shepherd did. I wish I could snap my fingers and make this feeling of helplessness go away. But, truthfully, the only thing I can do is try to change the way things are now, so the possibility of a life, better than that of dogs like these can exist.

Dogs are not lawn ornaments, they feel, they love and they hurt.

They deserve better than a life at the end of a chain.

Currently, Miami and Collier are the only counties in Florida that prohibits dog chaining or tethering.

Please help change things in your city.

For information on what you can do, visit:
www.dogsdeservebetter.org
www.unchainyourdog.org