Woman chains herself to doghouse in 8-hour-long protest
By Drew Harwell
For The Herald

Photo By Drew Harwell Bernie Stallibrass chains herself to a doghouse from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday, July 7 at High Springs' Graceworks Community Outreach. Stallibrass is participating in a nationwide "Chain Off" in order to spread the word that chaining and caging dogs is cruel and dangerous.

HIGH SPRINGS -- For Bernie, Saturday was a typical doggie day: wake up, get chained to a doghouse and pant for eight hours in the hot summer sun.

But if Bernie Stallibrass, 48, had her way, no dog would ever have to spend a day like this again.

Stallibrass, in conjunction with the Dogs Deserve Better organization and animal lovers across the country, took part Saturday in a nationwide "Chain Off" in order to spread the word that chaining and caging dogs is cruel and dangerous.

The best way to do this, they felt? Put the chains on the people.

So, like more than 80 people in about 39 states, Stallibrass strapped on a collar and recently purchased $4 chain, tethered herself to a tiny cage and sat in the beating sun from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. at High Springs' Graceworks Community Outreach.

It was a protest, to be sure, but a quiet one. There was no yelling, no chants and few signs. There may have been some barking, but only from Stallibrass' accompanying mutt, Pearl, 3.

No, Stallibrass just sat there sweating, the collar taut around her neck, with a face like one of the cowering dogs on her pamphlets that read, "I know I deserve better. I only wish you knew it, too."

Stallibrass said chaining a dog outside is tantamount to physical and social torture -- not only are the dogs made vulnerable to heat stroke, but they're deprived of loving relationships and family time.

"Confined in a pen ... that's just like torture," she said, jangling the chain that sagged from her neck. "You want to be with them but you can't."

"It's like looking inside a candy store," she added, "and you can't have any of it."

Confining dogs to one small space can also prove harmful for humans, she said. Dogs kept in such a way can turn territorial and defensive, leading them to bite approaching petters or curious kids.

From outside her metal cage on the side of U.S. 441, Stallibrass handed out pamphlets and raised a bit of money for Dogs Deserve Better and a local National Dog Day celebration in August.

Even as she sweated away bottles of water she kept in a small cooler, she said the effort was necessary if it stopped any canine bondage.

And for her, taking care of dogs is nothing new. Stallibrass has lived with pooches her entire life, even bringing her first dog, Bindy, an Australian terrier mix, with her during 3-year Navy stints in Australia and Italy.

"Dogs are just like kids -- they'll love you forever, you know," she said. "They wanna be with you, love you, make you happy."

In fact, she added, dogs make some of the best companions.

"They're much better than a husband," she said with a chuckle. "I tried the husband thing, and it didn't work."

Now working as a secretary with the USDA, Stallibrass cares for five dogs (Pearl, Dixie, Phoebe, Farrow and Pickles), as well as her brother's five dogs and her 17-year-old daughter's three dogs.

Oh, and she has four cats, too.

But of all Stallibrass' buddies, Pearl's the best. The pooch, Stallibrass said, is always by her mommy's side, loves to see the world and waits everyday to eat until her mom gets home.

So as Stallibrass stayed outside in the noon heat, drinking little so she wouldn't have to use the bathroom and ignoring lunch like a dog waiting for scraps, Pearl got to sit inside the air-conditioned building.

"Pearly gets the air-conditioning," Stallibrass said with a smile. "Mommy has to stay outside."