Maine Friends of Animals’ efforts to regulate chaining (“Group to help chained dogs” Feb. 11) should be supported by anybody who cares about dogs, and kids.

In 2005, two dogs who spent their lives chained up killed my beloved 2-year-old cousin, Jonathan Martin, in Suffolk, Va. Jonathan loved dogs and had no idea how dangerous they could be if chained.

Since losing Jonathan, I’ve learned that his death is not an isolated incident. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that chained dogs are nearly three times more likely to attack than are dogs not kept chained. Since an 8-year-old Hampton, Va., boy was killed by his family’s dog in 2000, hundreds more Americans – mostly innocent toddlers like Jonathan – have been injured or killed by chained dogs.

California recently enacted a law that prohibits the tethering of dogs for more than three hours in any 24-hour period. Countless children’s lives could be saved if other states followed suit.

I appeal to readers to please heed my family’s loss and pain and never chain your dogs.

Alice Conner,

Virginia Beach, Va.