On the heels of the Parsons Police Department’s rescue of Midus—a malnourished dog found chained outside an abandoned house without food or water—PETA is hitting local TV airwaves with an emergency message urging action for dogs who are in danger, “forgotten, as if they were invisible.” The 30-second spot shows dogs relegated to chains as they slowly disappear and ends with this plea: “Please see these dogs and help free them from a life of despair, before it’s too late. Dogs don’t belong at the end of a chain.” The video directs viewers to PETA.org/Chained to learn how to talk to neighbors about bringing dogs indoors and advocate for a city- or countywide dog-chaining ordinance.

“Midus was rescued in the nick of time, but there are countless other chained dogs who will suffer out of sight in backyards during this summer’s scorching heat,” says PETA Senior Vice President of Cruelty Investigations Daphna Nachminovitch. “PETA is calling on people to let their dogs live inside with the rest of the family, encourage others to do the same, and always come to the aid of an animal in need.”

PETA urges everyone to be on the lookout for any dog kept chained or penned outside 24/7. Witnesses should take pictures from public property; note how long an animal is left without adequate food, water, or shelter; and alert local law-enforcement authorities immediately.

A passing good Samaritan called the Parsons Police Department after spotting Midus tangled in the cable by which he was tethered. His case, which led to the arrest of his owner, is not an isolated one. Every year, PETA receives reports of dead or dying dogs, many of whom were trapped in pens and/or still had heavy chains around their necks. Dogs like Midus often go without adequate food, water, shelter, and veterinary care, confined to the same few square feet of space day in and day out. Chained dogs have been found tangled in their tethers, as Midus was, and suffering from heatstroke and dehydration in the summer and frostbite in the winter.

PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to abuse in any way”—opposes speciesism, a human-supremacist worldview. For more information, please visit PETA.org or follow the group on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram.