Group protests abuse of dogs

Dogs Deserve Better Missouri area representatives Melody Whitworth, right, and Sheila Ehler, left, watch as Bozo, a service dog belonging to Leonard Steinman checks out one of the doghouses on the steps of the Capitol during the group's Chain Off 2012 campaign. Chain Off is a national campaign held annually around 4th of July by the nonprofit organization Dogs Deserve Better, aimed at raising awareness about the plight of chained and penned dogs, as well as the dangers of doing so.
Dogs Deserve Better Missouri area representatives Melody Whitworth, right, and Sheila Ehler, left, watch as Bozo, a service dog belonging to Leonard Steinman checks out one of the doghouses on the steps of the Capitol during the group's Chain Off 2012 campaign. Chain Off is a national campaign held annually around 4th of July by the nonprofit organization Dogs Deserve Better, aimed at raising awareness about the plight of chained and penned dogs, as well as the dangers of doing so.

Several Missourians joined counterparts in more than a dozen other states Friday, chaining themselves to dog houses to show that keeping dogs on chains is a bad idea.

The group "Dogs Deserve Better" wants more cities, counties and states to pass laws that prohibit, or at least strictly regulate, keeping dogs chained up outside owners' homes.

On their website, www.dogsdeservebetter.com, the group noted the problems they said chaining creates.