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Details from the Chicago Chain Off
Last year we tackled Atlanta and Seattle as main event venues, this year we met in the middle of the country and took on Chicago! Or did Chicago take us on?
At least we now know why it's
called The Windy City! 13 dog advocates lived chained for 24 hours, from 11:15 a.m. June 28 through 11:15 a.m. June 29, 2008, suffering through extremes of the elements from wind to rain, and even hail! Watch the video, below, or scroll down for articles about the event:
Dogs Deserve Better
Opening Ceremonies kicked off at 11:00 a.m.; DDB Founder Tammy Grimes led the 6th Annual Chain Off Campaign, offering special thanks to the Chain Off committee, chaired by Susan Hartland (also Master of Ceremonies), with Cynthia Drobitsch (our booth queen, gathering 60 exhibitors for the event); instrumental were Cara Wilson, Aden Ryan (graphics, not pictured) and Monica Schreiber (not pictured), our PR goddess. Tammy then read Gordon's poem, introduced the 13 Chainees, and the 24 hours began!
Dog advocates
who lived chained in Chicago:
1. Tammy Grimes, founder of Dogs Deserve
Better
2. Dawn Ashby, DDB Public Liaison and
Rescue Coordinator
3. Rhonda Sims
4. Brittany Ashby
5. Marla Dakes
6. Kristin Hubbard
7. Kim Jayne
8. Cory Ferguson
9. Julie Ferguson
10. Samantha (Sammy) Ahlman
11. Gordon Bakalar
12. Jenny Lawson
13. Rocky Shepheard 2008 Campaign Bronze Sponsor
Protest aims to put 'chainers' in doghouse June 29, 2008, By Paige Winfield pwinfield@scn1.com http://www.suburbanchicagonews.com/napervillesun Metal chains hung from the necks of 10-year-old Samantha Ahlman of Naperville and her aunt, Julie Ferguson, as they sat cross-legged in front of a large doghouse Saturday afternoon. The shelter to which they were tethered was just one of about a dozen doghouses clustered together on the DuPage County Fairgrounds. Along with 15 other dog lovers, the two were "chaining" - spending 24 hours tied to doghouses to protest using the practice with dogs. "Just like the dogs that get chained outside with nothing, we're going to go au naturale," said Ferguson, who traveled with her husband, Cory, from their home in West Virginia to participate in the event. About 25 feet away from Ferguson sat a similar doghouse and its occupant, Tammy Grimes. Grimes is the founder of Dogs Deserve Better - a nonprofit organization that has organized the annual protest for six years. The group remonstrates chaining dogs and helps owners pay for fences or dog care instead. Grimes, 44, started DDB after observing a dog tethered for six years by her neighbor in Tipton, Penn. She says that chaining dogs for extended periods of time constitutes abuse, regardless of whether they are given food, water and shelter. "Anytime you leave a dog on a chain its entire life, that's abuse," Grimes said. "I feel like this is a forgotten cause. Just because dogs technically have a place to live, that's not necessarily a home." Grimes and fellow DDB activists say it's inhumane to isolate dogs by tethering them because of their social nature. Leaving dogs chained for hours or days leaves them unhappy and often aggressive, said Susan Hartland, a Seattle resident who also flew out for the event. "Chaining is just not a good alternative because they do become neglected ... they don't get the interaction they need," Hartland said. Hartland, 40, helped Naperville resident Cynthia Drobitsch, 29, organize the event, which was held in Atlanta last year. Drobitsch became involved in DDB just this year when she was searching for volunteer opportunities. Drobitsch came face-to-face with dog abuse when she had to give her Siberian Husky to an adoptive family during college. When she heard the father of the family had been arrested, she went to their house and found her dog chained to a tree, 20 pounds lighter and barely able to move. "We really just brought her back to life," Drobitsch said. "She was on her deathbed, she didn't lift her head." Now the owner of a Shiba Inu - a small Japanese breed - Drobitsch works through DDB to advocate for laws that prohibit chaining dogs for longer than three hours at a time. While Illinois currently has no such ordinances, California and Texas recently passed statewide laws that put specific time limits on chaining and Pennsylvania and South Carolina are considering similar legislation. As she worked to organize the event, Drobitsch decided to incorporate for the first time information booths from rescue groups, pet food vendors and other businesses and organizations that provide services for dogs. Rows of several dozen tent-covered tables stood next to the group of doghouses where the protesters sat. Most of the doghouses were actually lived in by dogs who were rescued from abusive situations. But Samantha, who attends Mill Street Elementary School, built her own doghouse with the help of her father. She said she was excited to participate when her aunt suggested the idea. "I'm just going to think of it as camping," she said.
List of Chicago Exhibitors: The Childrens Museum of Oak Lawn www.cmoaklawn.org/ RAFFLE PRIZE DONATIONS MISC. DONATIONS
Read the Chain Off 2008 Preliminary Press Release in .pdf format If you'd like to donate via regular USPS mail, send to P.O. Box 23, Tipton, PA 16684 or you may call 1.877.636.1408 to use Visa/Mastercard/AmEx Dogs Deserve Better is a 501c3 nonprofit education/legislation/rescue organization. Your donations are tax-deductible according to IRS guidelines. |
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