Dogs Chained Up Outside: Is This Animal Cruelty?

As an avid animal lover, it angers me beyond belief to drive by a house in some part of town and see a poor, helpless dog chained up outside. There is a year old lab/pit bull dog who is tied to a tree in Texas and his name is Obama. This poor dog has been tied to this tree since he was 4 months old.The dog is not only helpless but cannot defend himself well enough against stray dogs that may come up or any other critter that may wander around at night hunting food. Obama's owners do feed him and water him but he has no shelter at all from the elements outside.
Is leaving a dog chained up outside animal cruelty?

A chained dog is in humane. Just think of what this poor animal goes through on a daily basis. There is very little if no interaction with the owner and the dog may not have any type of shelter to protect him from the elements. How could anyone that owns a dog treat an animal like this? How would they like to be tied to a four-foot chain and left there day in & day out? Leaving a dog chained up outside for any length of time is down right cruel and the owner of any dog who keeps them chained up needs to be charged with animal cruelty.

Dogs need social interaction to be able to provide the love that they are meant to give. Without any social interaction with people, a chained dog will just become anti-social and could possibly turn aggressive. Even if the dog is aggressive before he is chained up, this will provoke him to become far more aggressive to the point of vicious. If a dog owner does not have the proper faculties ie: a fenced in back yard, then this person does not need any pets. Chaining a dog up outside not only is cruel to the animal but is also poses dangers to the dog.

A dog's chain can become entangled in a limb off of a tree, or down in between the slats of a deck or a porch and when this happens the dog will fight against himself and the chain to try to free himself and this could possibly cause the dog to choke himself. Another danger of chaining a dog is that the dog can walk around and around in circles and the chain will become twisted and tighten up with each twist and will eventually choke the dog to death. A chained dog that has no shelter has to stay out in the weather no matter what it is doing outside. During the wintertime, if a chained dog has no protection from the elements and the weather turns to freezing rain or sleet and snow, this poor helpless animal will freeze to death. During the summertime the chained dog will suffer heat exhaustion if there is not shelter from the blazing sun and he has no access to water.

A dog and even a puppy that has to spend his or her entire life on this earth chained to a tree or a fence post is like sending a human being to death row in prison. On death row there is no interaction with others and you are left to fend for yourself. You go crazy. Animals need love and attention. They crave it. The petting and cuddling and kisses are missed when a dog is chained up outside. There is just excuse or reason for this. Unless the dog will only be chained up for an hour or so and will be supervised and watched carefully, don't chain them up! Let dogs and puppies run free like the wind in a fenced yard and run and chase the birds and play catch with a ball and chase butterflies.

Chaining dogs up outside in my opinion is animal cruelty no matter what the reason is behind it!

During my ten years working as a vet technician, there were many times that I can recall when a dog was brought in and the dog's collar & the chain that was tied to the collar has become embedded down in to the dog's neck. The dog has to be anesthetized so the chain & collar could be cut off. This is another reason not to chain a dog up outside. This goes for puppies too!