Tethered Dogs Might Be on Short Leash
www.dailypress.com
BY SABINE C. HIRSCHAUER
March 16 2005, SMITHFIELD, VIRGINIA -- Smithfield dog owner Danyell Redd doesn't think much about a proposed
town law that may keep her 60-pound, 8-month-old Rottweiler puppy indoors instead of being in her backyard for a few hours , tied to a tree with a heavy chain.
"Stupid," she said. "Not all dogs are house dogs."
But more cities and counties are beginning to think differently. Smithfield could become the 69th locality in the country and the fourth in Virginia to enact a law that tells dog owners how or if they can tether their pets. Northampton County and Norfolk have laws. In January, Virginia Beach City Council made tethering dogs for more than three hours illegal. Newport News officials may consider some sort of tethering law this year.
Hampton, Suffolk and Williamsburg follow state law that allows tetheringbut requires dog owners to provide enough food, water and shelter and enough chain. "Companion animals should be part of the family," said Mark Kumpf, Newport News Animal Services superintendent, "and not part of the backyard decoration."
The number of cities and counties with dog tethering laws increased nationwide from 41 in 2002 to 68 today.
"It's a trend nationwide," said Stephanie Shain with the Humane Society of the United States in Washington.
Animal cruelty and public safety issues have driven the new regulations.
In December, a 4-year-old Florida boy was mauled by at least one of three dogs chained in a backyard. A 1-year-old was killed in Mississippi last year by a dog that was usually tied up on the porch. A case in NewJersey in March, in which a woman kept a starving dog tethered on a cable outside, spawned a public outcry and a change in the law.
Chained dogs become more anxious, aggressive and territorial than dogs kept inside and are nearly three times more likely to bite, according to a study by the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention.
"Dogs thrive on human companionship," Shain said. "Dogs outside don't get a lot of time socializing with people."
Smithfield Town Councilwoman Wendy Dean proposed the tethering law. "I think it's just cruel," Dean said. "If you have a dog, you need to have a fenced-in area."
Redd, the Smithfield dog owner, may not support the proposal, but others wouldn't mind tougher dog rules and regulations. "My dogs are like my children," Judith Hall said, "and I treat them that way."
Dean said she may push for not putting any or a very limited timerestriction on the books. Norfolk prohibits people from leaving their dogs tied up longer than 12 hours - which makes it hard to enforce, an animal control officer said.
"I don't have officers that sit at somebody's house for 12 hours and testify in court that the dog never left the chain," said Norfolk Animal Officer Deborah Michielson.
In Virginia Beach, where dog owners have a three-hour limit, officials see the new law as a chance to educate dog owners and get a betterhandle on animal cruelty in general. "It opened the door to look at cases that we normally wouldn't see until it's too late," said Wayne Gilbert, superintendent of the Virginia Beach Animal Control Bureau.
"If an animal is outside for a long time, there is a real good chance that it does not have adequate food and water. Then we can look at cruelty charges."
Smithfield will discuss the law again next month. Newport News plans to consider a tether law sometime this year.
"This is really about the quality of life of people's pets," said Kumpf,the Newport News animal control superintendent, "and there is not much of a life on the end of a chain."
