Off the Chain USA Inc

Our ultimate goal is to not to have to exist! We dream of a world where chaining dogs outside is a thing of the past. But we are not there yet. Our main goal is to get as many dogs off chains and into fences as possible, but also to educate dog owners so they understand why chaining a dog is unacceptable. We also aim to provide supplies to other dogs in our community who don't qualify for a fence, and provide vetting assistance when needed.

We have found that making a personal connection with the owners of these chained dogs is key. It is easy to judge these owners, but we strive not to do that. Instead we try to form a relationship with these owners that lasts well beyond the fence build. They know they can reach out to their fence build leader if they need help with their dog. This helps us to educate them about being better dog owners.

While we continue to build fences for chained dogs, we have slowly improved our ability to make real connections with the dogs' owners. Staying up to date on all the Off the Chain (OTC) dogs is challenging, so we have an annual Straw Drive in January where we and our awesome volunteers deliver straw to all our OTC dogs and some non-OTC dogs to help keep them warm in their dog houses for the winter. This allows us to get eyes on each dog at least once a year, and there is always some amount of follow-up to do after the Straw Drive.
Currently, each member of our Board of Directors functions as a fence build leader, so we are somewhat limited in the number of fence builds we can carry out depending on how many people we have on our Board at any given time. Our Board members have always started out as volunteers, and it has been slow building back up our volunteer base post-pandemic. Our overall goal is to get ourselves more and more widely known in our communities, so we can attract more volunteers, and ultimately add more Board members, thus increasing our fence build capabilities.

In 2017, we started off installing pulled fences, but over time, progressed to installing fence panels. We started off building dog houses out of wooden pallets, but progressed to providing igloo-style dog houses that provide better shelter. Over time we were able to start providing supplies to dogs in our community who do not qualify for a fence. As we grow, we learn, and we apply what we have learned to become more efficient at what we do. Going forward, we are working on improving our marketing and PR skills to get ourselves more widely known in our communities so we can attract more volunteers. This year we've also gotten some companies involved in our fence builds (the company will send a number of employees to help with the fence build), and we want to continue that trend. There is more room for growth, and we are excited about what the future will bring!