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Shana Cat Gustafson
Albuquerque
New Mexico
Sunday July 6, 2008, 10:00am to 2:00pm
Contact: shanacatpaws@gmail.com

The chain off I organized in Albuquerque, NM went great! Although I was the only one chained I did have lots of visitors inquiring about the event and Dogs Deserve Better. I handed out lots of brochures, door hangers and other information and of course got to verbally tell people about the importance of not chaining, penning or isolating such a social creature.

I managed to get some media coverage of the event too! The Albuquerque Channel 4 news station ran a story on the event on Sunday, July 7 that my mother-in-law taped while I was still chained in the park and the Albuquerque Journal newspaper sent out a reporter that did a very nice article (despite a somewhat misleading title.)

Just wanted to let you know that I was proud to participate in the 2008 Chain Off and will continue to educate the public in any venue I can to get the word out about Dogs Deserve Better and your mission!

Woman Wears a Collar and Chain in Fight for Dogs' Freedoms

By Olivier Uyttebrouck
Journal Staff Writer,http://www.abqjournal.com

Shana Gustafson gave up some of her freedom Sunday to raise awareness for the plight of dogs that spend much of their lives on a tether.

The 29-year-old Albuquerque woman wore a collar and chain for eight hours at Los Altos Park in observance of “Chain Off,” a national event organized by Dogs Deserve Better, a group dedicated to ending the practice of dog chaining.

Dog owners who chain their animals too often give no thought to the loneliness and vulnerability animals feel when they are confined and left alone, sometimes without food or water, for hours or days at a time, she said.

“I think they've just never considered how horrible it would be to tethered and isolated when you're a social animal,” Gustafson said. “The message is, don't chain your dog. Don't isolate them away for a long time.”

Most counties and municipalities in New Mexico lack ordinances that address dog chaining, according to a report released in January by Animal Protection of New Mexico Inc., a nonprofit that promotes humane treatment of animals. No jurisdiction in the state bans the practice outright, it found.

Six municipalities and 10 counties in New Mexico have laws that address chaining in some way, the report found.

Albuquerque's ordinance permits a dog to be chained for no more than one hour a day. Doña Ana County allows a dog to be chained no more than eight hours a day. Albuquerque's ordinance also requires that the chain be at least 12 feet long and weigh no more than an eighth of the animal's weight.

Gustafson said Albuquerque residents continue to chain dogs despite the law.

“I'd say it's still a pretty pervasive problem here in Albuquerque,” she said.

Gustafson also said chaining a dog can make the animal dangerous to children. A tethered dog feels vulnerable because it has no means of escape, she said.

“It's the fight or flight response that all animals have,” she said. “If you're tethered, you have no option but to fight.” That feeling of vulnerability can cause a chained dog to attack a small child, she said.

An Animal Protection of New Mexico report found that New Mexico has experienced seven fatal dog attacks in the past 42 years, including two that involved children who tried to interact with chained dogs.

Chained dogs too often remain confined without access to food, water or shade, Gustafson said.

“It's easy just to overlook them,” she said. “Once they're out of sight, it's easy for them to be out of mind.”

For more information, visit Dogs Deserve Better's Web site at www.dogsdeservebetter.org. To view a copy of the report by Animal Protection of New Mexico, visit www.apnm.org and link to the report from the home page. Animal Protection also maintains a hot line for reporting animal abuse at 821-9142.