A Trailer Isn’t Shelter for Any Dog

Hope Animal Sanctuary Operations Manager, Sharon Stone, and Justice for Animals Campaign Director, Doll Stanley recently confirmed with an in-person visit a report that there were dogs chained without shelter beside a Carroll County, Mississippi home.  A caller had contacted us and described how these dogs had cried and howled through a freezing night. We discovered that two dogs were chained to a flatbed trailer and a third dog was lose on the property, and all were  without shelter.

Our representatives left the scene to enlist the aid of Carroll County Deputy Mims to address the violation of state law. When the three arrived at the property, they found a man who had come home..  The man explained he’d recently moved in, was working two jobs, and would be addressing the sheltering issue. As a renter, he feared bringing the dogs into a home they might damage.  He admitted that initially he had confined the dogs beneath the carport where they’d damaged the fencing and freed themselves.  Our representatives pointed out that the carport was shelter of a kind, but not warm enough for winter and early spring nights and insufficient for the exercise two young dogs require.

Clearly the man had chained the two young dogs to keep them from getting into mischief with neighbors.  After the juveniles had freed themselves, they’d gotten into garbage which they’d chewed and strewn about his property.  He was advised, and agreed that the circumstance wasn’t beneficial to him and was cruel to his dogs even if they had houses.  With him working two jobs, the dogs would lack the companionship they needed and would still be unhappy.

The man readily agreed to surrender the two juveniles to HAS for placement and made an appointment for the smaller dog to be neutered and for him to become an indoor companion.

Those of us who are experienced with and passionate about the care of animals understand this was cruelty.  However,  this man did not intentionally harm his dogs and they were not thin or frightened of humans.  Still,  being chained and in the cold was miserable for them. We can’t fathom why other people who believe they care about their companions don’t address the obvious.  We wonder why they allow their constrained circumstances to move them to do what even their conscience may be telling them is unacceptable.  The simple truth is humans get so caught up in how circumstances affects them, that they lose sight of the effects on their animals and even don’t think of reaching out for help.

Roy and Ricky are now safely and happily under the protection of HAS while they are fostered until their placement.  Their buddy dog who was clearly fond of his human will get the care he couldn’t get while his stressed guardian attempted to spread his limited resources on two too many juvenile dogs.

This clear case of cruelty, though not intended to be cruel, highlights the difficulty our Justice for Animals Campaign faces in gaining tethering restrictive ordinances in Mississippi, or any region in which people struggle without the resources to build fences, or to own property on which they may erect fencing.  However, with determination and understanding of the people who live in these regions we hope to establish not just laws, but an understanding of what companion animals need and deserve.