Life on a Chain in Memphis

"I wouldn't do that to myself, so why would I do that to him? 'Caint take his manhood.""She was born to do it; I just want one litter."If the team at All 4s Rescue League had a dollar for every time they heard those excuses, and the many others for why someone didn't want to spay or neuter their dog, they wouldn't need to do any fundraising.On Wednesday, Nancy and I spent a day on the streets of Memphis with Suzy, Blair, and Denise from All 4s. It was an exciting day for us, a chance to see exactly where much of the problem of unwanted dogs in the shelters begins. For the All 4s team, it was just another day trying to better the lives of dogs who spend their lives living on chains.We met up with Suzy, Blair, and Denise at the storage unit where All 4s keeps their dog houses and supplies. We talked briefly about the work they do and then piled into their van and truck and set off for an address in a sketchy neighborhood where Suzy had seen dogs living chained in a side yard.

Undeterred, Suzy left her card and wrote his address in her book. I asked if she thought he’d ever call and she told me that she’s had gang members contact her later after they are out of earshot of their friends or they’ve got a litter of puppies they can’t find homes for. She is undeterred, but flaggingly respectful in the face of excuses and lies she’s heard thousands of times.Watching her walk past crowds of young black men gathered in driveways to knock on a door and ask about the dog chained behind the house or walk brazenly into a yard full of the signature barrels and heavy chains anchored in the ground of dog-fighters, I realized that this woman will stop at nothing to help a dog.There are plenty of people who think All 4s shouldn’t be giving out dog houses or dog food or offering to spay or neuter a dog for free, but Suzy doesn’t worry about them. There’s no time for that. What she worries about, all the time, every day, is dogs. Dogs who spend their lives on a chain in all kinds of weather, some starving, some sick, some injured, pregnant, old, young, but helpless because of those chains.Suzy spends her days on the streets of Memphis and her nights working her networks finding rescues to take puppies, searching for funding to pay the vet bills for the sick and injured dogs or unvaccinated puppies or the 300 spay and neuter surgeries that All 4s pays for each year. All 4s is always in need of donors to purchase more dog houses. The heavy dog houses All 4s use cost between $120 and $160 depending on their size.In the last three years, All 4s has given out 1300 dog houses in Memphis, plus the four we installed today. If you’d like to donate a doghouse and have your name inscribed (or the name of someone you want to honor or remember), you can donate to All 4s via paypal at All4srescue@yahoo.com and in the notes let them know what name or message you would like them to inscribe. If you’d rather send a check, you can mail it to: All 4s Rescue, P.O. Box 384, Arlington, TN 38002If you also let them know you found out about them via Who Will Let the Dogs Out, I’ll post pictures of your doghouse on the Who Will Let the Dogs Out Facebook page (and Instagram). The heavy, insulated dog houses cost about $150.As we’ve traveled through the south this week, we’ve asked over and over again—why? Why are dogs treated with such disregard, even cruelty? Why do people not provide the basics like offer food, shelter, or medical care to these animals they proclaim to love? Why wouldn’t a community drowning in so many unwanted dogs be willing to spay and neuter their animals? The one answer that we keep returning to is that it’s a cultural problem. To fix this problem, we need a cultural change.Spending the day today, hopping in and out of the truck to follow Suzy into backyards and onto front porches, I can tell you that what she is doing is more than giving out doghouses and spay/neuter lectures; she is changing hearts and minds. Her kindness and respect and her deep commitment to the welfare of these dogs has an impact.All 4s is known in many of the poor neighborhoods in Memphis. They see the white van coming and they know it’s the dog ladies. Actions speak so much louder than words. Instead of waiting for these animals to turn up at the kill-shelter, the dump, or on the nightly news, All 4s goes to them, bringing dog houses, straw, food, collars, but mostly their hearts. They care so much about these dogs, they can’t help but make others care too.They are led by a woman whose fierce heart knows no fear, only a deep and abiding commitment to changing the situation for the chained dogs of Memphis. At the end of our day, I asked Suzy if she is ever scared, after all she goes into gang-infested neighborhoods and knocks on doors or walks into backyards uninvited, taking no protection except her fierce heart. She paused only a second before answering. "No, I'm not ever scared; this is about the dogs."This has been a week of heroes and All4s was rife with them. I am exhausted but inspired. I want to come back to Memphis. I could spend every day out this team of incredible women who work miracles for the animals and the people of Memphis.If you’d like to learn more about All 4s Rescue League or donate to them directly, visit https://www.all4srescue.com/You can also donate specific items through their Amazon Wishlist.Until every cage is empty,CaraPlease help us by subscribing (button on right side) to and sharing this blog. You can also keep track of us on Facebook and Instagram.Who Will Let the Dogs Out (we call it Waldo for short) is an initiative of Operation Paws for Homes. If you’d like to contribute to our work, we encourage you to click on the how-to-help link above and give directly to a shelter. You can also donate to our work via OPH’s donation page by designating Who Will Let the Dogs Out in your comments.My upcoming book, One Hundred Dogs & Counting: One Woman, Ten Thousand Miles, and a Journey Into the Heart of Shelters and Rescues (Pegasus Books, July 7, 2020) tells the story of not only our foster experience but how Who Will Let the Dogs Out began. It is available for preorder now and a portion of proceeds of every book sold will go to help unwanted animals in the south.