If it wasn't for Daniel, Molly and Quest, the two women sitting in the Hi-Way Pizza parking lot on Saturday would've been a somber sight.

In fact, it was easy for visitors to overlook Kim Campbell and Deb Carr, who were tied, via a chain attached to their necks, to two beat-up doghouses. Instead, the spectators -- mostly children -- focused their attention on Daniel, the Gordon Setter; Molly, the Austrailian Shepherd mix; and Quest, the Akita, each oblivious to their owners' protest on their behalf as they basked in the noon sun.

Campbell and Carr, members of the animal advocacy organization Dogs Deserve Better, were taking part in the Sixth Annual Chain Off, aimed to raise awareness about the practice of chaining up dogs. Volunteers chained themselves from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Friday and Saturday in the parking lot of Hi-Way Pizza, 1688 N. Atherton St.

On Saturday, Tammy Sneath Grimes, who began the event as a one-woman protest in Tipton in 2002, recounted her experience at the organization's main event in Chicago from June 28 to 29.

"We had 15 people chained for 24 hours," she said, adding when rain and hail came down from 1 a.m. to 5 a.m., "I had to sleep in my doghouse. My sleeping bag got soaking wet."

Grimes' organization also offers fencing free of charge to dog owners as an alternative to chaining up dogs.

Dogs Deserve Better uses this approach to prevent animal cruelty, she said, "instead of just saying it's not right."

Stopping by on his way to get chinchilla food -- his family has two in addition to their three dogs -- Centre County Commissioner Steve Dershem talked about his part in the yearly protest.

"This is the first year I'm not chaining myself, actually," he said, adding he had to attend a parade on Saturday. "I've been supportive of Tammy and her organization for several years."

An estimated 6 million dogs are chained for all or most of their lives, according to Dogs Deserve Better press release. This number once included Daniel and Molly, Grimes said, who were rescued with other chained up dogs from a woman's house in Tennessee.

"This one just adores me -- she follows me everywhere," Grimes said about Molly.

The organization hopes to start fundraising soon to build a center for rescued dogs, but in the meantime, a network of volunteers acts as "foster care" until the animals are adopted, she said.

Daniel didn't seem to be suffering on Saturday as he nestled next to a chained-up Carr.

"He's in heaven," Carr said with a laugh.