Unchained dogs

Life at the end of a chain isn't much of a life. It amazes me that anyone would think that this is an appropriate way to keep a dog. If a dog is going to be outside and doesn't have the space, temperament, and training necessary to be living at large, the dog needs a fence. Some people who resort to chains are too cheap to put up a fence, some are just too lazy. All are too ignorant to realize that dogs are social animals who want and need to be with their people.

Hannibal and Nemo were living such a "life" in rural Virginia. Lucky for them, a former adopter saw them and contacted the owner to see if he would be interested in giving up the dogs, since he obviously wasn't doing anything with them. The man was a breeder, of course, but fortunately he is planning to move soon and he was interested in giving up the dogs, for a price.

Mr. Good-hearted Former Adopter paid the man's price and then turned the dogs over to me. I went with him to meet and pick up the dogs last weekend. Hannibal was living on a chain with only the top half of an igloo doghouse for shelter. Actually he was living in a 10' diameter circle of mud defined by the length of the chain attached to a center post. His water bucket was knocked over and he was drinking from a puddle of standing water left by some recent rain. He is underweight and he has an obvious wound on his neck from the collar and chain, but still, he is a remarkably good natured dog.

His brother, Nemo, (the slightly larger and darker of the two) had been living on a chain tied to the front porch of the single-wide trailer. Nemo had recently broken his chain or collar, so he was actually living in a decent-sized pen at a friend's home down the road. In the adjacent pen was a male and female that he guy is taking with him to the Carolina cesspool where he will be moving to continue his breeding. So this rescue didn't break the cycle of ignorance and misery, but it did save these two individual dogs. That is really all we can do most of the time.

The former owner isn't particularly evil, but he is just plain stupid. Every time he opened his mouth to talk about dogs he confirmed that fact. I can't call him white trash because he is black, so I'm at a loss for an appropriate epithet.

Hannibal and Nemo both got to see a vet for the first time in their lives on Tuesday. They had hookworms and whipworms, but thankfully no heartworms. They also got vaccinated and neutered. They have had the chance to enjoy life a little this week.