by Gabrielle Keen

Created on: January 10, 2009   Last Updated: August 04, 2010

They returned home after a night out and found him hanging. Their much loved Bull Dog cross dog was dead. Chained to his kennel he had become bored and jumped on to the roof of his kennel to better see over the neighbouring fence. The neighbours were not home either and did not see the dog strangle himself as he jumped from his kennel roof to their lawn on the other side of the fence. His feet never touched the ground as the chain was not long enough. There was no one to save him. He died a horrible and unnecessary death.

Another dog, a Labrador spent it's last living moments being dragged along a road behind her owner's flat bed truck. He was oblivious to the fact she had fallen off the back whilst attached to her chain. A trailing motorist witnessed this horrific accident and alerted the driver. Sadly it was too late for the dog who died at the scene from a combination of strangling and injuries sustained from bouncing over gravel at 100 kilometers an hour. Chaining a dog on the back of a truck or utility vehicle is foolhardy, both dangerous for the dog and other traffic should the dog slip and fall off the edge.

My friend tied her dog to a bike stand outside a shop while she went in to buy a newspaper. It was only to be for a few short minutes. Tragically it was long enough for the dog to break free and run across the busy road where it was hit by a passing car and killed. Not only was the dog gone forever but my friend was left distraught and racked with guilt for a long time to come.

A young child was badly mauled by a dog who had spent his lonely and pathetic life chained to his kennel. The child tripped and became tangled up in the dog's chain unable to escape the bored and neglected dog's reaction to the perceived invasion of the only space it could call it's own. The child eventually recovered from her injuries. The dog was destroyed for it's deemed aggression but more aptly because of the incompetence and misery inflicted by it's ignorant owners.Unfortunately these scenarios are not uncommon. Consequently I believe the chaining of dogs should be made illegal.

One can argue there are times a dog needs to be chained for it's own well-being or the safety of others. I disagree. There are alternatives for keeping a dog safe and secure without the chains that bind them. A kennel with attached run is the far safer option should there be no fence around a property and on occasion when there is. Even with a fenced property there are times a dog needs to be

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