Freedom II: Chia Artpiece

Lakeview dog protester chains self to building

LAKEVIEW -

Picket signs and marches were not enough for one Morley resident's 13-hour protest. So Liesza Vera, 33, chained herself to Lakeside Autobody in Lakeview for eight hours Sunday and five hours Monday to protest neglected, chained-up dogs. "It put into perspective how lonely and frustrating it is for these dogs," she said.

While Vera took a couple of short breaks, she primarily sat on a blanket on the concrete tethered by a collar around her neck during the protest, which she publicized in advance. Vera also chatted with passers-by, wrote in a journal and counted 186 links on her chain.

"Drive down any back road in the county and you'll see dogs chained with no food and no water," she said. "They're often neglected and starving, and something has to be done about it." Vera, who owns three dogs, said she understands keeping animals tied up for short periods of time. "What I'm against is when they are forced to live their whole lives there," she said. "I'm looking to raise awareness to the plight of dogs living life on chains. It's wrong for a social animal to be kept in solitary confinement like that."

Vera said chained dogs may be territorial and unsocialized so they're more apt to bite people who come near them. She said she was inspired by Dogs Deserve Better, a Tipton, Pa.-based nonprofit organization that promotes laws banning chained dogs.

"It's an awareness campaign," Tammy Grimes, Dogs Deserve Better founder said from the company's headquarters. "Our goal is to get people to understand that (chaining) is an inadequate way to care of their dogs." Grimes chained herself up six years ago and the protests since have spread to more than 100 imitators such as Vera this year. Grimes recently participated in a Chicago-based protest herself and said it is important to show people other options available for dogs, such as erecting outside fences. "The best thing to do is to make the dogs a part of the family," Grimes said.

Vera is considering becoming an area representative for Dogs Deserve Better, taking telephone calls from people who see dogs tied up and making home visits to discuss options with the pet owners. She said she plans to continue protesting and fundraising efforts during Greenville's Danish Festival next month. "Through this awareness we're looking for legislation," Vera said. "We need to start somewhere. Other states have anti-tethering laws."

California, Connecticut, Texas, Virginia and West Virginia have statewide laws that bar tying up dogs. In Michigan, Battle Creek enacted an anti-tethering law in 2002. While some people pointed and laughed at Vera as they passed by, she said many picked up brochures and donated to Dogs Deserve Better. "Dogs are very intelligent and social animals that have feelings," said Vera. "To keep them isolated is a poor tribute to man's best friend."

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