New Hanover May Make Tethering Dogs Illegal

We have a dog that spends part of the day outside, and most of the time inside. We play fetch with her twice each day until she is exhausted in our unfenced yard. With two insulated "Dogloos", plenty of tree shade, fresh water and attention from my kids, she is in dog heaven. She begs to go to her designated space outdoors, because she can continue work on her cozy den deep into the earth. I agree, there are a few people who abuse tethers, but the vast majority do not. The new rule is absurd. I don't want elected officials telling me I have to keep my dog inside 24-7, or let the dog have charge of the yard digging holes everywhere. Give people a little credit. Pets and children should be raised with love by responsible adults. When this responsibility is abused, pets and children should be removed from the home. Don't impose ridiculous laws on everyone due to the thoughtless acts of a few, just to make life easier for animal control. I'm glad I live in Brunswick County.

Andrea Press is a hero! We love her! This anti-tethering law has been on the books for 13 years. All this time it was being enforced as--"you can't tie your dogs out". Meanwhile, Andrea Press who is a RESPONSIBLE dog owner got herself a ticket and was able to get out of it because she showed the weakness in the law. Andrea is actually on the right side of this. She IS an animal activist. If a responsible person could so easily get out of it, then the person who ties the dog out 24/7, leaving it in deplorable conditions can too by using the same logic of the weakness and ambiguity of the law. All they are trying to do is add in ONE word--"ATTENDED" into a law that is on our books and is as county commissioners said--settled law. They are trying to amend the law in order to close the loophole. Andrea was able to point out the loophole and that's all this is about. With this one word--You can tether your dogs if you are out there with them. That way, they won't be able to accidentally get hurt, hang themselves, tangle themselves up, dehydrate in the hot sun if they tip the water over and if there's no fence--a child will not be able to wander into their path chasing a ball because YOU will prevent it. Like I said, THANK YOU ANDREA for showing us that the this law needed clarity and strenthening. No one has any personal agenda against Andrea--not animal control, not animal activists. Like I said, she is a hero. Look at how she was able to raise awareness to an issue that wasn't being talked about before. Look at all these people debating this. I am SOOO glad that responsible dog owners like Andrea Press exist to help us clarify this law! Everyone reading this email--email county commissioners that ANDREA PRESS is a HERO and that you want to add in "attended" to close the loophole!

A DOGS PLEA......

TREAT ME KINDLY, MY BELOVED FRIEND, FOR NO HEART IN ALL THE WORLD IS MORE GRATEFUL FOR KINDNESS THEN THE LOVING HEART OF MINE.

DO NOT BREAK MY SPIRIT WITH A STICK, FOR THOUGH I SHOULD LICK YOUR HAND BETWEEN EACH BLOW, YOUR PATIENCE AND UNDERSTANDING WILL MORE QUICKLY TEACH ME THE THINGS YOU WOULD HAVE ME LEARN.

SPEAK TO ME OFTEN, FOR YOUR VOICE IS THE SWEETEST MUSIC, AS YOU MUST KNOW FROM THE FIERCE WAGGING OF MY TAIL WHEN YOUR FOOTSTEP FALLS UPON MY WAITING EAR.

PLEASE TAKE ME INSIDE WHEN IT IS COLD AND WET, FOR I AM A DOMESTICATED ANIMAL, NO LONGER ACCUSTOMED TO BITTER ELEMENTS. I ASK NO GLORY, THEN THE PRIVILEGE OF SITTING AT YOUR FEET BESIDE THE HEARTH.

KEEP MY PAN FILLED WITH FRESH WATER , FOR I CANNOT TELL YOU WHEN I SUFFER THIRST.FEED ME CLEAN FOOD , THAT I MAY STAY WELL TO ROMP AND PLAY AND DO YOUR BIDDING, TO WALK BY YOUR SIDE AND STAND READY, WILLING AND ABLE TO PROTECT YOU WITH MY LIFE, SHOULD YOUR LIFE BE IN DANGER.

AND, MY FRIEND WHEN I AM VERY OLD, AN NO LONGER ENJOY GOOD HEALTH AND SIGHT; DO NOT MAKE HEROIC EFFORTS TO KEEP ME GOING. I AM NOT HAVING FUN. PLEASE SEE THAT MY TRUSTING LIFE IS TAKEN GENTLY. I SHALL LEAVE THIS EARTH KNOWING WITH THE LAST BREATH I DRAW THAT MY FATE WAS ALWAYS SAFEST IN YOUR HANDS.
ANONYMOUS

Why is it important that your neighbors socialize their dogs?

Just one example from this months chained dog attacks..on March 1st in PLANT CITY, FL -- A 20 month old boy suffered head and neck injuries in a backyard attack by a chained family dog. From January 2006 to January 2007 alone, the following attacks by 24/7 chained backyard dogs resulted in serious injury or death of a child:

January, 2007: Taylor Kitlica, 18 months, Alabama, killed, Iris Wass, 3, Michigan, seriously injured, December, 2006: Ricky Nelson, 5, Georgia, injured,, Unknown girl, 3, California, seriously injured, Taylor Wilson, 8, Oklahoma, injured, Hannah Wilson, 1, Oklahoma, injured ,Allen L. Young, 22-mo., South Carolina, killed October, 2006, Unknown boy, 14, New Jersey, injured, Ashley Evans, 2, Texas, seriously injured, Unknown boy, 2, North Carolina, killed Dakota Kent, 2, Alabama, seriously injured, September, 2006: Unknown boy, 2, Pennsylvania, injured Unknown girl, 7, Oregon, injured, Jacobe Vanderwall, 18-mo., injured, Michigan Raymond Slice, 14-mo., Idaho, injured, August, 2006: Isaiah Smith, 5, Missouri, injured, July, 2006:Mireya Puga Davila, 3, Texas, killed June, 2006: Gemma Liliana Carlos, 2, Texas, killed Jacob Peck, teen, Missouri, injured Two unnamed children, unknown ages, Alabama, injured Javlyin Anderson, 15-mo., Mississippi, killed Nathan McClure, 8, Alabama, injured, ,May, 2006:Unknown boy, 6, South Carolina, injured, Abby Marie Bent, 4, Tennessee, seriously injured, April, 2006: Jonathan Saltkill, 5, Kentucky, seriously injured, girl Blatchford, 2, Oregon, seriously injured Xavier Thorne, 2, Alabama, seriously injured, Kiera Odell-Manuel, 7, Iowa, seriously injured, Katelyn Kangas, 5, Alaska, seriously injured, Kylee Kindred, 5, Ohio, seriously injured, Unnamed boy, teen, Illinois, injured, Unnamed girl, 5, Indiana, injured, Justin Dennis, 4, Ohio, injured, Unnamed girl, 9, Ohio, injured, Tyler King, 10, Louisiana, seriously injured, March, 2006: Quillan Cottrell, 3, Missouri, killed, Unnamed girl, unknown age, Virginia, injured, Jessica Laux, 3, California, injured, boy Sparks, 4, Illinois, injured , Alexus Nance, 6, North Carolina, injured Jacob Tanner King, 6, Tennessee, injured, February, 2006: Dominic Giordano, 4, Montana, killed, April Hendon, 17, Louisiana, seriously injured, Christopher Banks, 11, Virginia, seriously injured, January, 2006: Cianna Crittenden, 2, Oklahoma, seriously injured, Cody Adair, 4, Oklahoma, killed

(this is only an abbreviated list...there were more)
24/7 chaining/tethering harms your pet and kills our children. Put a face with these attacks by visiting:
www.mothersagainstdogchaining.org

Dawn Ashby

It's humorous the fine is $25.00 for untethered and $250.00 for tethered but anyway the road in front of my house is messed up, I need the NHC commissioners tethered to fixing roads and education.

I think that if you are not reponsible enough to train your dog and be able to tie your dog up and go in for a cup of coffee, then you shouldnt be walking your dog in public places to begin with. When I didnt have a fence in my backyard, I had a pulley system set up where my dog could still run around without getting tangled up for the day and come in at nighttime. I think it would be stupid to get a ticket for that. I personally think it is inhumane to tie up a dog permanantly to a tree or something and have seen people who keep their dogs that way all the time. This I think makes the dogs more agressive because they just stay there all the time and dont get to roam. The dogs dont have enough human contact. Why keep a dog that is tied up all the time anyways? I do not need a leash with my dog because he does not run off and stays with me and I feel that it is important to let him run freely which I do at the dog parks but the parks are so crowded now that is becomes more of a problem with people who cannot discipline their dogs.

If the dog is on your property what is the problem? You would think they would concern themselves with animals that are not be restrained at all. I really don't see how this is helping "the public" as they claim.

There seems to be an agenda here of some sort, of which, I'm guessing a bit of animal activism.

Calm Down...

Everyone is up in arms over nothing. NHC does not want to write everone a ticket. We have a speed limit but you speed don't you? I am sure that each and everone of you break some law sometime or another. This law will help the county go after people who ABUSE the situation. If you tether your dog for a short time then you have nothing to worry about. Do you think animal control is just sitting around waiting to write you a ticket? Everyone that is SO against this law are the ones that take advantage and leave them tied in the back yard. You morons complaining about a few minutes or a few hours, animal control does not have the resources to come after you. Everyone that bashes animal rights groups usually have a reason to hate those groups. I love to hear hunter say they LOVE their dogs or they LOVE animals. What a joke! If you want to tie your dog up and keep them in pens then move out in the country.

If your dog digs under or jumps over a fence, there are other ways to address those behaviors besides tying his neck to a post. Try spending some time with him. Take a nice long walk together. Teach him to behave. Just two long walks a day can turn an escape artist into a calm dog dozing next to his guardian. If you don't have time or means to do that, why do you have a dog? Dogs Deserve Better

This all sounds too much like another animal rightist scheme to force all pet owners to adhere to their hair brained controlling ideas.

Fair is treating your dog, or any other animail, with respect and love. If you choose to take care of and have a pet then TAKE CARE OF THEM! It does not mean that they can not be put on a leash or a tether....what is wrong with that if you are allowing them to get exersize and watching out for them. No, it's not leaving them for hours or days on end on a tether. That is absolutely NOT fair! But to put them on one while you are at home and allow them to play outside instead of being cooped up inside, when maybe you can't go out right then. What's the harm, I ask? None of us can be with our pets 24/7. We aren't with our children, families, etc. 24/7. So why not allow them to enjoy time outside, while you can supervise them?
And no we would not put our children on a tether....but they are not a dog. Remember people dogs are NOT people. Yes treat them well. Feed, nurture, train and love your pet because they do become like family but come on...... I love my doggie. He is the best thing in the world and he is taken care of like no other. So don't tell me I'm not treating him well or I'm terrible because I do this. He is a big dog and requires lots of attention - of which I give him. He is kept indoors but on occasion he is put on a tether. I think this is my right as his owner.

I think tethering for short periods of time is acceptable as long as the dog is being properly watched. I have a 130 lb great dane. I work full time. My dog is in the house during the day. When my children get home from school they put the dog on a runner for 15-20 minutes so she can go to the bathroom. When my husband or I get home we walk her on a leash. She is still puppy and sometimes can be a handful and will drag my teenagers around. I do not see a problem tethering as long as it is for short amounts of time and the dog is properly watched. It is for the dogs safety that most people do this. My neighbor has a dog that he keeps in a 10 ft high fence and everyday this dog climbs out of the fence and runs into the street. Once he was even hit by a car. So how is fencing any safer if the dog can dig or climb out of the fence.

A dog is a living creature with feelings who deserves respect, they are not a piece of furniture or an "outfit" you get tired of and "toss out". People who care about their pets do not put them out in the backyard for hours on end.
The answer is simple: if you don't want to take care of a dog then don't get one. If you have one, make a commitment to take good care of him.

So we've had dogs tethered for probably, well...let's see...thousands of years and within only the last few years it becomes a big issue. Why is that?

Couldn't be all those agenda-driven animal rightists could it?

Couldn't be sensationalized press coverage could it?

Couldn't be that problems with tethering are the exception to the rule now could it?

Again, when it comes to crafting policy in regards to animal law, basing that very law on exceptions and the bad experiences of the few is irresponsible governing, abuse of the law, and quite frankly, intellectual laziness; which compromises the very integrity of the law itself and those who craft and enforce it. Even when those who enforce it lobby for this kind of legislation, it is best to disregard their type of self-serving legislative agendas and stick to what we know: strict animal laws do not serve the public nor do they keep the community safe.

Why? Because when it comes to pet ownership, only open, active, pet-friendly communities enjoy a quality of life and safe environment that is beneficial to all. Ultimately it should be positive, rather than yet another path-of-least-resistance law which is unenforceable and unreliable. Lawmakers ought to be insulted when this type of ordinance lobbied for and eventually drafted and pushed by their staffers!

Understand that NO Animal Rightist organization is going to lobby for a positive solution! Or animal rightists who pretend to be for animal welfare, of course, under false pretenses. These campaigns are so well-crafted, it is quite obvious that they utilize focus groups, create bogus studies based on erroneous research, craft fancy promotional materials, and actively target lawmakers who they assume will be opportunistic and reactionary.

Don't be fooled. Anti-tethering laws are simply a "Trojan Horse", designed to lead towards other irresponsible/sensationalist laws that animal rightists are clamoring to sneak in.

Until lawmakers figure out that they too are simply being misinformed and used, there will be no end to this nonsense anytime soon. Public beware! Animal Rightists have invested a lot of resources to attach lawmakers to marionette strings. Somewhere along the line, reason and accountability was sabotaged and forgotten.

But never give in to societal busy-bodies and hysterics. Keep trying to educate and push for positive solutions. Pet ownership deserves no less!

Nick Van Duren

To bythebook: I truly hope you are not thinking that Andrea Press is exploiting animals... because if you do, I think you are seriously wrong. From what I understand of this whole crock of BS is that she was being a responsible dog owner by making sure her dogs did not leave her property, and was cited for this reason. She did some homework and discovered that NHC's laws against tethering did not exist. So she was wrongfully cited. How would that classify her as an exploiter?

To the person who claims that have seen the horrors of what happens to tethered dogs, let me ask you this? What about the dogs kept in pens 24/7 standing/laying/playing in their own muck? What about the dogs locked up in the back room who may be fed every once in awhile? A dog that is properly cared for and loved will not suffer from time spent on a tether system. As many people have already pointed out, it is not the means by which the dog is kept (inside or outside, in a pen or on a tether system) but by how the dog is cared for. If a dog is abused or neglected it is definately going to have problems and issues. (That would be a given for most people.)

I currently have four dogs, two which are direct rescues, and one that is an indirect rescue. One of my direct rescues came from the end of a tether. She was skin and bones because her owner DID NOT care about her! That was the injustice done to her. She wasn't loved. She is now, though. The other direct rescue came from off the side of the highway. Skin and bones, she was left to defend for herself. Again, her owner DID NOT care about her!! Owners that care about their dogs want to ensure they are not harmed. So why deny them the right to tether a dog that is a fence jumper or digger?

My indirect rescue was the result of a litter from a momma dog that was picked up off the street. She is spayed and can/will leave the backyard just because. She can easily scale a 6ft privacy fence from a standing position. What other alternative do I have, otherthan tether her while she is outside? Does that make me a "bad" owner? No. Because I CARE about her. I don't want her getting out and getting hit by a car. I have tethered dogs out for a variety of reasons, but have never tethered and forgot.

I think Animal Control should set up guidelines such as the length of the tether in proportion to the length of the dog. And that they should evaulate each tether situation independently. If the dog is NOT being cared for, then obvisiouly the owner should not have the dog. But if the dog is being cared for, then why write the owner a fine for $250!! (Is it just me or does any one else notice that it is cheaper to allow your dog to run at large than confine them on your property? $25 v. $250 Which is safer?? Both for the public and the dog?) But then again, I guess this is why I'm taking my money and my dogs outside of NHC. I really don't feel that NHC's Animal Control gives a rat ____ about dogs or the public.....

Carla

PLEASE...you bunch of morons. You take this dog in to be a part of your family and then you tie them up in the yard. Treat your dog like one of the family or don't get a dog. Would you tie up your kids? Some of you should from the what I hear in the news. If they don't pass some sort of law you will keep your poor dog tied in the yard forever. I see it everyday. The shelter is full of dogs that stupid people turned in so their life would be more simple. You people that get dogs and keep them in the back of the yard make me sick.

Well I can see here that the NC non-animal lovers from an infamous Yahoo group have come out in droves to comment. Please do not let these people sway your opinion. No matter what the content of a proposed ordinance or bill in NC they find fault in it. Nothing is ever good enough, nothing is ever right, all bills and ordinances for animals are bad in their opinion, all bills lead back to PeTA, etc and that is simply not true. They would love to see this state revert back 100 years when no animal protection existed. Well they are losing their battle and we are winning because far more people love animals, truly love animals for their companionship - not how much money they can make off them.

I co-run NC Voters for Animal Welfare (www.NCVAW.org) - a group these non-animal lovers despise because of the success we have had in helping animals in our state by using the power of the voters to pass laws to protect animals. Despite what they say we love animals and do not want to see an end to animal ownership - we just want animals to be treated humanely and that is not always the case due to outdated laws on our books or worse, no laws at all.

Besides co-running NCVAW, I am also the local Dogs Deserve Better rep and a member of the Coalition to Unchain Dogs – both groups work to see an end to a dog living its life chained or confined in a tiny pen. Fortunately, both are illegal where I live, here in New Hanover County.

I would venture to say most of the people against this ordinance, including the woman who got the ticket, know little about the harm chaining an animal can do. Chained animals become very territorial of their area. They are forced to lead a solitary life when they are pack animals. Dogs are “flight or fight animals” meaning they will either run or stand and fight if they feel threatened. If chained the dog has only one option – to defend itself and its territory – it cannot run away.

For those of you who have children did you know that “since October 2003, there have been at least 116 children killed and/or seriously injured by chained dogs in this country”? The reason that date was chosen is that a child was killed by two chained Great Danes in October 2003 in SC. The Mother started a spin-off of DDB called Mothers Against Dog Chaining (http://www.mothersagainstdogchaining.org/index.html) and you can go to her website to read about her daughter’s death and many others.

After you read these stories tell me that you think it is OK to chain dogs! You see there has to be a law or many people would chain their dogs up 24/7 which is in itself inhumane. Why have a dog if you plan to keep it chained up outside? If you love your dog you don’t want to see it languish at the end of a chain day in and day out – it is part of your family and lives as part of your family.

We need this ordinance to remain on the books in New Hanover County. It is becoming a growing trend in the US with many, many communities banning tethering as well as 4 states. We are on the right track and we need to stay that way!

Karen Loveless (NC DDB Rep)

North Carolina Voters for Animal Welfare Secretary/Treasurer www.NCVAW.org

This issue is about what is best for the dogs. It is not about extremism from either side of the animal issue. Surely, the legislation would not outlaw temporary tethering, as one may need to do at a coffee shop, as was mentioned previously. No matter how many studies there are that have looked at tethering, there is anecdotal evidence that dogs that are chained day in and day out are often times dangerous. We should be careful to look at studies critically (me included), because not all studies are sound. What breeds were included in the studies? What were the tethering conditions? There are some dogs that are chained day in and day out that have access to shelter, food, and water, and those wouldn't legally be considered abuse, so letting abuse/neglect laws handle these issues is not sufficient. If all pet owners were responsible, these laws would not be needed. Yes, responsibility can be legislated, or there wouldn't be public schools, and seat belt laws do make a difference.