Nearly a dozen people spent Saturday in the dog house, willingly, to highlight the suffering of dogs chained outside in all types of weather for hours on end, if not days.

Members of the Wisconsin-based non-profit Alliance For Animals chained themselves for eight hours Saturday to dog houses on the city's East Side.

The demonstration is part of national campaign called Chain Off 2007.

The executive director of Alliance for Animals says dogs are social beings, who crave companionship. Lori Nitzel says it's already illegal in many communities to chain or tether dogs for long periods of time.

"It's very cruel and inhumane for the animal, and it's actually very dangerous for people too. The majority of the injuries received by children and deaths are from chained dogs because they become very aggressive," Nitzel says.

Chain Off 2007 is organized by Dogs Deserve Better. You can find a link to the group's website by clicking on news links.