I have loved animals pretty much my whole life.

When I was younger, I wanted to take in every furry little creature I found because I wanted it to have a good home and feel loved.

I partially blame Walt Disney for my somewhat obsessive need to make sure animals are taken care of because, in my mind, they all have little personalities just like they do in Disney movies (i.e. “Lady and the Tramp,” “The Fox and the Hound,” “The Lion King,” etc.)

I have gotten a tad bit better about it since I’ve gotten older, but I still have a huge love for animals of all kinds and can’t stand to see them mistreated, which is really why I’m writing this column.

On my way to lunch this week, I passed by a yard where there was a smaller dog that was on a very short chain in a part of the yard that had absolutely no grass or shade. The dog was just sitting there watching cars and other dogs pass by and it just broke my heart.

I thought to myself that maybe the owners were gone and that surely the dog was able to come off the chain and interact with his owners when they were at home.

However, I passed by the same house a day later at a different time of day (it was actually in the evening) and the dog was still chained to the same spot.

I’m sure there are those who would disagree with me, but in my opinion, this is just cruel. Why would you own a dog if all you were going to do with it is keep it chained in the front yard? What’s the point?

I realize the purpose of the chain is to keep the dog from roaming the streets and being a nuisance to other people (which is good), but I wonder if these people ever stopped to consider that if they weren’t going to be at home very much that maybe being a dog owner wasn’t the best idea.

Owning a pet is not something that should be done on a whim, and you shouldn’t get a pet if you aren’t prepared for the responsibilities that come along with it.

In the end, dogs are dogs and people are people, but our four-legged friends still deserve to be loved and treated decently, and I dare say that being on a three-foot chain in the blinding sun all day isn’t being treated decently.