Day Two Tour, Arkansas

 

Diary of Dawn: Day 2—Chained in Arkansas

It was a later start this morning and it has resulted in a later evening tonight or should I say earlier morning as I'm logging my diary entry in the wee hours. I want you all to know that Tammy is snoring as I'm typing this. I know she will deny it, but it's truth. She makes a slight mooing noise and I neigh in my sleep. It must sound like a barnyard in here. It leaves me to wonder if all animal rescuers make animal noises during REM.

We started out this day to prove we can pull into any town in America and find chained dogs and today proved us right. The first area we came across had much rain which resulted in flooding and a woman we spoke with informed us that more rain was in the forecast. This is bad news for the neighboring Pit Bull who was sleeping on soggy ground in a pen next door.

The car came to an unexpected screeching halt when Tammy Grimes "Dog Warrior" saw a turtle in the middle of the road. This just proves what kind of a person Tammy really is, she'd risk her life (and mine) to get a turtle to cross the road and out of harm's way. Of course I video taped the footage with a play by play. I can only speculate if this had been in Pennsylvania instead of Arkansas would Tammy had been arrested for saving the turtle?

The next town we turned in to was almost as saturated as the one before. We counted many chained dogs in the area, some of the owners lived in beautiful brick homes and some in rundown trailers. This made no difference to their pets who were chained outside in the mud either way.

I immediately grew attached to a dog named Kane. He was a big German Shepherd with one lazy ear. I visited his caretaker while Tammy spoke to a neighbor about her chained dog. Kane had a thick chain wrapped around his throat which evoked panic in me because I've cut so many chains and collars from under the skin of dogs because of this. Tammy and I went out and purchased a thick collar for Kane, some chew toys, treats, rawhides and food. We also purchased a couple items for his caretaker, a new mother who needed some care herself. At the end of our visit I put Kane's new collar on him and had to hook him back up to the chain. It was the most sickening feeling for me to do that, but I left him with the promise of a new fence and his caretaker was left a little more educated on the importance of bringing Kane into her home.

Tammy and I spent most of the day knocking on doors and speaking to caretakers of chained dogs. When we stopped for lunch I passed a boutique with the latest spring fashions. A memory of a time before rescue (BR=Before Rescue) crept into my mind of a woman who would have stopped to browse and purchase something nice for herself. I realize I have no interest in such things anymore, no interest and no time. I sighed and walked away thinking that someone is going to send one of these videos to those snobbish trend setters on "What Not To Wear".

As we moved on to Little Rock we were in contact with a rescue friend Mica, who put us through to her friend who put us through to Stacy who was kind enough to meet up with us and show us around. Stacy took us into a part of the city she said was big into drug dealing. I prepared myself to see a vast number of chained dogs here and was surprised that the numbers were lower than expected. Obviously there were still some sad circumstances which Stacy explained was because the law was not always enforced in every area because neighbor's were often reluctant to phone in the violations. Stacy felt an answer to this would be for police and code officers to automatically contact the ACO if they noticed chained dog violations while they were enforcing another law.

Not long after we set out on our expedition did we see a little dog with a chain embedded into it's neck. The chain was dragging behind the dog as it sprinted away from us. The dog was always just out of our reach and a local explained that the dog had been running in the neighborhood that way for more than a month. He said we'd never catch him because the dog knew the neighborhood. He was right, that dog knew every hole and back alley and we didn't. We gave Stacy money to purchase food for the dog and she promised to go back to it's sleeping spot and rescue it. Later we spoke with another friend who will call Stacy to help with this case. We told both of them to contact DDB and we would vet this dog and help find a foster home. This poor baby is vividly etched into our minds and hearts. We are anxious for a happy ending to this story. You'll be happy there are no pictures of him/her.

Another troubling case in Little Rock was when we found a sweet Chow mix attached to a trolley system that did not work. My guess was the dog had escaped before and his caretakers tried a quick remedy to tie him back up again resulting in a dog twisted and stuck in a position where it could barely move and couldn't reach it's water bucket. I tried to untangle the dog, but it was impossible, so I unhooked the water bucket and moved it to where the dog could reach it. The dog could tell I was getting the water and began jumping excitedly and darted for the nasty water in the bucket and greedily lapped it. I went to the house and spoke with the owners and the ACO is going to go and check on the dog and straighten out his caretaker.

We met with Emily Pennel and her husband John of Unchainyourdog.org who invited us into their lovely home and cooked us the most fantastic gourmet meal. Emily can be described as a woman who has it all: brains, looks, a great cook, plus compassion; the most admirable trait. My favorite part of the evening was when John said his wife Emily's shero is Tammy and his shero is Emily. John and Emily are a dynamic duo themselves as they have helped pass not one but two tethering laws in both Little Rock and North Little Rock! Special thanks to Emily and John not only for a great meal and great company, but for putting us up in a beautiful hotel for the night. Gracias!

Having logged 31 dogs today in Arkansas, we'd say we easily surpassed our 10 dog goal, and can confidently say the 31 is a mere molecule on the top of a pinhead.

It is 3:55 a.m. and we need to be on the road at 8 a.m., so goodnight all, more excitement awaits us in Louisiana in only a few hours!

Dawn Ashby, DDB Public Liaison Director

12 Days, 12 States, 120 Chained Dog

Day 1: April 6th, Missouri
Day 2: April 7th, Arkansas
Day 3: April 8th, Lousiana
Day 4: April 9th, Mississippi
Day 5: April 10, Alabama
Day 6: April 11, Georgia
Day 7: April 12, South Carolina
Day 8: April 13, North Carolina
Day 9: April 14, Tennessee
Day 10: April 15, Kentucky
Day 11: April 16, Virginia
Day 12: April 17, West Virginia

We are offering new collars and leashes for as many dogs as we can afford, plus giving out treats and dog food in addition to educational materials and discussions. If you can help fund the campaign and the supplies we'd like to deliver, it would be very much appreciated.

We Can Now Take Donations Over the Phone at 1.877.636.1408

We can now accept donations over the phone
using a major credit card at 1.877.636.1408.

If you'd like to donate via regular USPS mail, you may print out this
form in .pdf format, and send to P.O. Box 23, Tipton, PA 1668