Hi this is Krista with episode number 133 on the Wag Out Loud pawdcast. have you checked out all of the amazing partner products that I highly recommend? These are products that I have tried, tested and can totally recommend that will help your dog to thrive. Just go to WagOutLoud.com, and check out our Partner Products section. And I've negotiated discounts for most of the products, so why not see what can make a difference in your dog's life?

Have you ever wondered, what are cataracts in dogs? So canine cataracts happen when the proteins of your dog's eyes clump together and form a cloudy film, which actually blocks light into your dog's eye and may cause some vision loss. Over time, the proteins continue gathering and the entire lens becomes cloudy, which could lead to total blindness. Most dogs’ cataracts are hereditary, and there are more than 100 dog breeds known to get cataracts.

Welcome to the Wag Out Loud pawdcast, where we are obsessed with bringing you helpful tips on canine health care, nutrition, and overall wellbeing. If you'd like to support the show, check out the amazing online events, products and resources that I personally recommend on the Wag Out Loud website. I'm your host, Krista and I'm super excited to be bringing you yet another tail wagging episode.

Daphna Nachminovitch is the senior vice president of cruelty investigations for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. She oversees the group’s low-cost spay/neuter clinics, which have “fixed” more than 187,000 dogs and cats since 2001, and has successfully worked with government officials to pass laws banning or restricting the chaining of dogs in several cities, as well as in the state of Virginia. She also directs PETA’s field team, which provides neglected dogs in southeastern Virginia and northeastern North Carolina with custom-made doghouses, straw bedding, toys, and other services. Its work to help neglected “backyard dogs” is the subject of a recent documentary, Breaking the Chain, from executive producer Anjelica Huston.

Welcome dog lovers! today we are going to be chatting with Daphna Nachminovitch. And she is the Senior Vice President of cruelty investigations for PETA. And she's going to be talking about breaking the chain facing the nationwide dog neglect crisis. Daphna, I am so thrilled that you are here. We've had this on the schedule for a long time now. Could you please introduce yourself and share why are you so passionate about rescuing abused and neglected dogs, I'm sure this is something that you see these disturbing situations in your line of work every single day.

Yes, and thank you, Krista, so much for having me. It's wonderful to be here. My name is Daphna and I've been with PETA for 24 years this month. And, of course, one of my passions is dogs and ensuring that their quality of life is what it should be. And in our line of work at PETA, we see dogs and other animals who are deprived, not just of basic necessities of life, meaning food, water, shelter, and veterinary care. But of all that is natural to them and what they need in order to thrive and be happy and have joy. They don't have companionship, they don't get to exercise. And they don't have any interaction that's meaningful with humans. These are dogs that we serve through a local program I'll go into in a bit. But we're talking about dogs who are relegated to the outdoors 24/7, usually at the end of a heavy chain, or even a tether or in a pen 24/7 in the same tiny patch of dirt. And these are the dogs that I hope through my work and others work, PETA’s work to achieve a difference of life and death for them by opening people's eyes to their plight, and hopefully getting legislation passed that makes it illegal to keep dogs outside chained up like an old bicycle.

Yes. And we just we can't imagine. Because of course everybody listening today, you know, we love our dogs, they're part of our family, we pamper them, we try to do everything for them. So this