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Breaking the Chain – How chaining dogs in a yard is a prison sentence and a form of animal cruelty and neglect

by Jennie Richards · Published July 27, 2021 · Updated July 27, 2021

“Never, ever, ever buy an animal – from a pet store, a breeder, online. Never buy, always adopt, always spay and neuter, it’s not only the right thing to do for all dogs and cats, it’s the best thing to do for that particular animal from a health perspective.”

An eye-opening, heart-wrenching documentary about the plight of chained dogs in the U.S., that are tethered and left outside, often neglected, and live quiet lives of desperation in very poor health. In this new documentary, PETA’s Community Animal Project, a division of the animal cruelty department, has field workers that work tirelessly to save mistreated and neglected dogs in the impoverished areas of Virginia and North Carolina. These hard-working, dedicated people give much-needed care to desperate and mistreated animals who—without their help—would continue to suffer or even die. These committed heroes work on the frontlines of the animal neglect, abuse, and overpopulation crisis, dedicating their lives to saving the much less fortunate and alleviating further suffering against almost unimaginable odds.

Without PETA’s team, these often-forgotten, starving and sick animals—many of whom have never before known a kind word or a comforting touch from a human—rely on PETA’s field team for even the most basic necessities of life. Often, these are the only humans in their lives providing them with adequate shelter, basic medical care, or even much-needed affection. It’s a mission that is as rewarding as it is challenging and confronts misconceptions from within the animal sheltering community and beyond.

Breaking the Chain shows the cruelty and lack of consciousness that is behind chaining dogs. It is the antithesis of what dogs need as the film depicts and demonstrates why dogs need so much more. Healthy and happy dogs need to live safely inside a home with people, away from temperature fluctuations and extreme temperatures, must get ample exercise daily, fresh water and nutritious food daily, be given good veterinary and medical care on a routine basis, receive love and affection for reassurance and socialization throughout the day, and be given the respect they deserve as animals.

Chaining “man’s best friend” is akin to prison for dogs, it’s a life sentence of solitary confinement, torture and misery, trapped at the end of a chain or in a small pen. There is no crueler punishment for these social animals, who crave companionship, affection, and safety, and depend on their humans to provide the best care for them every day.

Reporting Animal Cruelty

If you see an animal chained up in a back or front yard, 24/7, you can report it to the authorities and to PETA. Read about how to report animal cruelty. Never stay silent. Always speak up for the animal. You are their voice. If not you, who? If you see something, say something. Here’s how.

Film Premier: 2020

Film Length: 1 Hour, 2 minutes

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Visit the Website, Breaking the Chain

Quotes From the Film

“PETA always advocates for adopting pets, never buying an animal, banning the breeding of dogs and cats, mandating spay and neuter – the problem is caused by people breeding and buying animals.”

“Never—ever—ever buy an animal – from a pet store, a breeder, or online. Never buy—always adopt. Always spay and neuter, it’s not only the right thing to do for all dogs and cats, it is the best thing to do for that particular animal from a health perspective. Always, always adopt.”

“If you SEE SOMETHING, SAY SOMETHING – never be silent. You can report things anonymously to almost every organization. If there is an animal at the end of chain, or chained to a pen, or living inside a small kennel being neglected. Get involved. Say something. Report it to the authorities and to PETA.”

“Never buy—always adopt. Always spay and neuter. Don’t delay.”

“She has lost a lot of weight since June, she’s very hungry, and the fleas are crawling all over her body, and the flies are eating her ears up alive. And I don’t think she is fed on a regular basis. This is her life on a regular basis, every day, every hour, every minute. I think we need to get her out of here very, very soon, or she will die.”

“A typical day is usually going out to North Carolina, where people don’t have money for their dogs, they’re really poor.”

“Part of what we do is we live with hope – hope that the animal will be surrendered, hope that how these individual animals are treated will significantly improve, hope for the animal.”

“Tethering is tying up your animals, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, no matter what the weather, no matter if they have shelter. It could be freezing cold, snowing, and heat. Hurricanes, ice storms, and in summer months temps can exceed 110 degrees F.”

“These dogs are bored, hungry, freezing cold, overheated, and tied to a chain. They are in prison.”

“Dogs on chains are attacked by dogs that are not on chains.”

“All dogs are house dogs.”

“These dogs are isolated outside—when they are inside, with their pack – they are happier.”

“In many of the cases we deal with, it’s a very deeply engrained traditional way in which people were raised in which dogs were outside in certain cultures, to keep dogs outside is cruel.”

“We face a general lack of education about what dogs really need. Every day out here.”

“The communities we go to are very poor, they were taught from their family, to treat animals this way. We try to have compassion for them.”

“Each day, field workers are assigned to certain cases. They could be delivering dog houses, delivering an animal that was spayed, picking up a female dog to be spayed, and we bring out dog food. PETA does a lot of education, getting veterinary help for the dogs, trying to improve the animals’ lives.”

“It’s absolutely horrific, some dogs are so sorely neglected, they are not long for this world. Many of these dogs had never had anyone who has petted them, they haven’t had a kind word, the owners haven’t bothered to treat her fleas, she’s scared, hungry, starving, we took her – to give her a better life.”

“A chain came off of a puppy that was 30 pounds, and she wasn’t able to hold her head up. It’s terrible animal cruelty.”

“Sometimes the chain is for trying to build their muscles. PETA is trying to get chaining banned for animal cruelty.”

“Sometimes people will put these dogs in pens, instead of tethering, but the pens can be so small they are just as bad.”

“PETA employs carpenters to build dog houses. We try to only give dog houses to people who are willing to spay or neuter their dogs. The dog houses are designed to be big enough to keep the doghouse to be warmer. We deliver about 300 dog houses per year—it’s like a last resort—if people won’t let the dogs go inside of their homes.”

“These dog houses make a world of difference for the dogs.”

“PETA has a straw delivery program, and every winter we deliver straw to areas of high concentration of chained dogs. It’s bedding for dogs. The dogs love the straw and it helps contain their body heat.”

“If your dogs are outside and they are not getting treatment for it, then these dogs will get heartworm, and can die.”

“It’s very hard to leave these animals in the field. But I know there is another animal in need that needs us next.”

“Dogs that are chained outside, die young. Backyard dogs do not have a long lifespan because they are so often neglected.”

“Nothing gives this dog joy. Emotionally she was broken. She was so poorly socialized. She ate where she defecated. This dog had no one in the bad storm. She’s alone. It’s a wonderful day that she is out of her life sentence she was serving, for no reason at all—but we could not save her unfortunately, she was too far gone from neglect and cruelty.”

“Outdoor cats that live outside contract diseases from each other, and are exposed to the dangers of being hit by a car, prone to getting injuries, are attacked by wildlife, and get diseases. It’s a terrible life for them.”

“Spaying and neutering prevents unwanted litters, and more homeless cats. It’s critical.”

“There’s a huge overpopulation of animals in the U.S., more than 6 million animals go into animal shelters every year, and 3 million need to be euthanized because they are not adopted or adoptable.”

“Cats left outside unfixed is a huge problem because they continue breeding unwanted cats.”

“We spayed and neutered over 400 animals on that day at PETA, the veterinarians also did other things that were needed medically for the animals at the same time.”

“The major problem is that people have animals they cannot properly take care of, they keep them outside, they chain them, they don’t take care of them, they cannot feed them, they chain them like ornaments left to die. They should not have an animal or dog.”

“PETA always has two people on call – 24/7, if an animals’ needs help.”

“One dog had severe heartworm disease, his belly was completely distended as will happen, he was outside in a cage, it was pouring rain. Heartworm causes paralyzation, and he was starving. We picked him up, dried him off, fed him, and then euthanized him – he was suffering severely.”

“The dogs we can save and are forfeited to us, we try to turn them around, from being chained to ….. sleeping inside of a house, getting Christmas presents—their lives totally transformed.”

“The problem is that 230,000 dogs and cats came into shelters in Virginia in one year. They were all unwanted, homeless, and abandoned by people – that is the problem. The problem is people.”

“Dogs kept outdoors 24/7 are chronically neglected.”