It’s now illegal in Virginia to leave a dog chained out in the cold

It’s now illegal in Virginia to leave a dog chained out in the cold

Published Monday, Dec. 7, 2020, 5:20 pm Join AFP's 100,000+ followers on Facebook Purchase a subscription to AFP | Subscribe to AFP podcasts on iTunes News, press releases, letters to the editor: [email protected] Advertising inquiries: [email protected]

As temperatures drop, PETA is alerting dog guardians to a new state law that prohibits leaving dogs chained up or tethered outside when the temperature is 32 degrees or below—and reminding them to take their dogs indoors or face legal consequences.

“Dogs are flesh and blood, not picnic tables, so if it’s too cold outside for you, it’s too cold for your dog!” PETA Senior Vice President Daphna Nachminovitch said. “Animals depend on us for everything from food, water, and shelter to keeping them safe and happy—and the law now recognizes that that includes not leaving them to shiver in the cold.”

Dogs chained outdoors around the clock are deprived of everything that’s natural and important to them. They spend their days and nights isolated and robbed of the social interaction they crave as pack animals.

In the winter, dogs left outside have been found suffering from frostbite and exposure, and in the summer, heatstroke.

All year round, they become tangled in their chains and perish when they’re unable to reach food, water, or shelter.

State law also requires that dogs who are kept outdoors, tethered or not, be provided with insulating straw or other bedding and that doghouses have a windbreak to help protect animals from the cold.