LAW FOR DOG OWNERS

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A law with teeth or a bite for dog owners?

 

07/17/2005

 

South Roxana’s anti-tethering proposal stirs wide debate

 

By CYNTHIA M. ELLIS

 

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The Telegraph

 

Puppy love is the beginning of a lifetime affair for most dog owners.

 

But as those puppies mature, many owners find they are simply easier to keep

outside on a chain rather than letting them have the run of the house. Some

owners take great care to make sure the animals they leave outside are

well-tended, with plenty of shade, food and water.

 

But even those compassionate measures aren’t enough, some animal advocates say.

 

" It's no life for a dog to be chained outside all the time, " said Ledy VanKavage

of Collinsville, an attorney and senior director at the ASPCA Midwest State

Government Affairs and Public Policy Office.

 

One of the biggest animal debates to hit the area in a long time centers around

a proposal in the village of South Roxana that would ban dog owners from

tethering their dogs outside for more than an hour at a time. People are lining

up on two distinct sides. One side says government has no right to enforce such

a rule on what people do with their own animals.

 

The other side says dogs left outside are those that pose the greatest risks to

themselves and others.

 

During the past month, South Roxana officials have met with the community a

number of times to discuss the proposed regulation. Trustees are expected to

talk about the proposed ban again at 7 p.m. Tuesday.

 

" I don’t know how it will go, " Mayor Kenny Beasley said. " I really would like to

see this happen, because I think the community and dogs deserve better. "

 

Beasley said numerous complaints about tethered dogs prompted him to propose an

ordinance. South Roxana could become only the second community in Illinois to

have restrictions on tethering, if the measure passes.

 

VanKavage said she hopes it does. She said it’s inhumane to leave a dog tied

outside with little or no attention.

 

" Dogs are pack animals by nature, " she said. " They need closeness, touching and

petting to be content and happy. "

 

She said that when they lose their ability to run with the pack (read that as

hang with humans), they become more aggressive and protective of their space,

especially if they are tethered.

 

VanKavage said the America Society of Prevention and Cruelty to Animals applauds

the village’s anti-tethering initiative.

 

Beasley is pushing the ordinance as a preventive measure aimed at public safety

and the humane treatment of dogs. Traditionally, he said, communities look at

controlling dogs after problems occur -- rather than trying to combat problems

before they start.

 

" I want an ordinance with some ‘teeth?in it, " Beasley said. " I don’t want any

child to be hurt because it got too close to a chained dog. "

 

Many dog owners have good intentions when they tether their dog, often to keep

them from running free, but what they don’t realize is the animal often suffers

emotional and physical abuse while left outside -- and not necessarily from the

owner.

 

It is estimated there are more than 50 million dogs in the United States, and

about one family in three owns a dog.

 

Tammy Grimes, founder of Dogs Deserve Better, a nonprofit organization dedicated

to freeing the chained dog, believes it’s a shame that communities should have

to dictate common sense.

 

" If you’re going to bring a dog into your life, you’ve got to be willing to take

responsibility for its care and well-being, " Grimes said.

 

She said chaining a dog " to the nearest tree " is irresponsible behavior.

 

" A responsible caretaker’s dog lives inside and has a fence high and sound

enough to protect both the dog and anyone passing by, " Grimes said.

 

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the American

Veterinary Medical Association, someone in the United States seeks medical

attention for a dog bite-related injury every 40 seconds.

 

Karen Delise, author of " Fatal Dog Attacks, " studied more than 448 cases of

fatal dog attacks in the United States from 1965 to 2001. She said three

critical factors contribute to attacks or maulings: function of the dog, owner

responsibility and reproductive status of the dog.

 

Delise said there is not a single documented case where a neutered, household

dog was the cause of a human fatality.

 

She makes a clear distinction between a " household " dog that lives within the

home and has extensive social contact with family members, as opposed to a

" resident dog " that is kept chained or restrained outside the home

 

Delise said chaining a dog is arguably the single most dangerous condition in

which to maintain a dog. Statistically, she said, chained dogs are more

dangerous than free-running packs of dogs.

 

" Many people may not view a chained dog as a potential threat by the sheer fact

that the dog’s access is limited, " she said. " This is a fallacy. Chained dogs

have killed at least 98 people, and of those, 92 were children that either

wandered into reach or attempted to play, tease, feed or untangle a chained,

tied or similarly restrained dog. "

 

The city of Aurora is the only town in Illinois that restricts tethering in

regard to the type of chain that’s used and the length of time.

 

The closest community to South Roxana that restricts tethering is Creve Coeur.

 

Creve Coeur City Administrator Mark Perkins said the City Council voted earlier

this year to limit the time dog owners could tether their animals outside. He

said one resident was very proactive in getting the ordinance changed, because

she felt the animals chained up outside needed to be treated more humanely.

 

Perkins said it’s too early to tell whether the ordinance has made difference.

 

" So far, (the city) has not received any calls regarding violations, " he said.

 

When the ordinance was created, it was more restrictive than it is now -- the

City Council changed some of its provisions to accommodate people who work.

 

In Creve Coeur, it is illegal to tether a dog in a fenced or unfenced yard for

more than eight continuous hours or more than 12 hours in a 24-hour period.

 

Beasley said limiting the time dogs are tethered inevitably will anger some dog

owners.

 

" I understand there will be some residents upset by this, " he said. " But I think

that safety is more important. "

 

South Roxana Police Chief Dennis Carpenter said community safety could be served

and cruelty could be prevented if officials regulate irresponsible and dangerous

practices.

 

Carpenter said dog owners would be allowed to tether their animals for only one

hour at a time up to three times a day. Non-tethered dogs left outside for

longer periods would have to be in a fenced-in yard or a kennel.

 

" Police are not going to be riding around all day waiting to see how long

someone keeps their dog outside, " he said. " But if (the village) receives a

complaint, then something could be done about it. "

 

Those who disagree with the proposed ordinance argue that tethering a dog

doesn’t make it aggressive and that the ban on tethering would not stop people

from abusing their dogs.

 

Allen Grant, of the 400 block of Illinois Avenue, said he has owned dogs his

whole life and has never seen one go crazy because it was on a chain.

 

He said being chained doesn’t cause a dog to become mean, and he also contends

they can get out of a fenced area or pen just as easily as they can break the

chain.

 

Beasley said he believes many owners tether their dogs simply because they don’t

want to go through the trouble and expense of putting up a fence or kennel.

 

" I've even offered to help someone put up a fence, but they declined, " he said.

" They would rather tether their dog. "

 

cynthia_ellis

 

 

©The Telegraph 2005