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Breaking the Chain

June 08, 2009, 1:21PM MT

By Cheri Moon

Best Friends members help Nevada approve anti-tethering law

Best Friends members help Nevada approve anti-tethering law

By Sandy Miller, Best Friends staff writer

For dogs in Nevada, October can’t come soon enough.

That’s when the chains will come off, at least for a while each day. A new state law will go into effect October 1 mandating that dogs cannot be chained more than 14 hours a day.

Best Friends members played a big part in pushing the Nevada bill through. Since early this spring, they’ve been calling and writing Nevada lawmakers, explaining to them that it’s both cruel and dangerous to chain dogs for long periods of time.

“We got our members involved and got them to voice their support,” says Ed Fritz, campaign specialist for Pit Bulls: Saving America’s Dog, one of four Best Friends campaigns aimed at reaching the goal of No More Homeless Pets.

Senate Bill 132 was approved in late May. The law also states that during those times when a dog is chained, the tether must be at least 12 feet long, or if it’s a pulley or trolley, allow the dog to move at least 12 feet in one direction.

“It’s good news for dogs,” Fritz says of the new law. “This gives animal control more tools to go in and enforce animal cruelty laws.”

Nevada in now the third state, along with Texas and California, to limit specifically the number of hours dogs can be tethered or chained each day.

Dogs that are chained for long periods tend to be neglected and can be dangerous, straining animal control resources and endangering the community. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says chained dogs are 2.8 times more likely to bite adults and nearly five times more likely to bite children. And according to a study by the National Canine Research Council, almost 30 percent of fatal dog attacks involve chained or penned dogs.

Life on a chain is a lonely existence for a dog. Best Friends’ Dr. Frank McMillan, an expert on the mental health and well-being of animals, testified before a Nevada senate committee before state lawmakers voted on the bill. He told them that while the physical suffering of chained dogs gets all the attention, the fact is that the emotional suffering these dogs experience when separated from their human companions can be even more distressing than the physical pain.

“The next time you see a dog that is living his life on a chain, know that the suffering is there – inside – and that that dog is shackled to his own personal pain until someone unchains him from it,” McMillan told the committee.

Nevada’s new law is a start. The hope is that someday, all dogs will be treated as members of their families and will be freed of their chains for good.

For More Information
• Read more about Nevada’s anti-tethering law.
• Read more about chained dogs and anti-tethering news around the country, and about how you can help.

Stock photos by Clay Myers, Best Friends photographer
Posted by Cheri Moon, Best Friends Network editor

Comments

Posted June 12, 2009, 4:0PM by bordercolliemom

I always wonder why these people have dogs! 14 hours is a long time. We have las here in Dupage County, IL. But Animal Control does nothing. I had a neighbor that tied their puppy out all day and night. When A C would come they would tell them what to do and the people did not do it. I would call A C again same thing. 3 times I called and A C told me they were trying to educate the people. Then the pup was gone. They got rid of it. My giess was the fate of that pup was not good. Laws are useless if not enforced properly. Good luck to Nevada.

Posted June 10, 2009, 12:50AM by mxipp

to kelly4cats: dogs have been dying because we didn't have such a law before. In the summer in southern NV it can hit 120 degrees easily. In northern NV it can drop below 0 degrees at night in the winter. Dogs on chains try to jump fences and hang themselves. Dogs on chains are attacked by free roaming dogs and coyotes.

Until all dog owners are responsible and treat their pets humanely, laws like this are needed.

Posted June 12, 2009, 10:0PM by rolsen5

This IS TRULY wonderful; however I'm now just as concerned about where these humans, who thought nothing about chaining their dogs all day, will put their dogs during the ten-hour period the dogs are supposed to be off chain! Will they be put in a small crate inside a garage, will they be put in a closet,. will they be dumped at animal shelters which kill, .....? How will we know what kind of treatment they'll receive? Will there be a way to follow up, or check on these dogs when they're off their chains?

Posted June 09, 2009, 2:10PM by mxipp

A huge THANK YOU is owed to Karen Goodman who spearheaded this effort. She first introduced this bill in the 2007 Legislative session, and when it didn't pass she came right back again this year and succeeded!

BF sent Dr. Frank to testify, local law enforcement testified, local rescue groups testified, HSUS testified -- it was a huge effort by lots of people. The bill passed overwhelmingly in both the Senate and the Assembly, voted "yes" to by legislators of all parties.

I'm hopeful it will make a difference in dogs' lives and in getting more animal welfare legislation passed in the future..

Posted June 10, 2009, 4:39PM by Jillhende

I am glad this law was passed too but I am sad to see that it hasn't worked here in SA. LIke the other comment made who is going to know whether they are chained for 12 hours or less. THe people chaining the dogs don't care and if they aren't repremanded for it they don't change anything. I would love to hear how this changes anything in LV. There is a group out there Called Dogs Deserve Better. They help with chained dogs. Even when working with them and Animal control some of these dogs are still chained. I know because I have been trying to help a dog for about 5 months. I hope that this is the begining to changing the laws altogether and making it illegal to tether a dog period. I hate to sound like such a bummer but it's the reality here in San Antonio.

Posted June 13, 2009, 9:10AM by SunniesMom

I say NOT GOOD ENOUGH. These so-called laws/by-laws are implemented to fool the general public into believing that they are doing something to protect animals. 1 hour is too long - think about it, how long does it take for a dog to get tangeld up, 1 minute, 30 seconds? Yes, 14 hours is better than all day, but by how much, really? Residents of Nevada (and any other state, country, whatever) fight this, make the governments ban chaining altogether!

Posted June 12, 2009, 4:22PM by shaunp

Good news: Found this on the dogsdeservebetter website. Thanks for sharing the site. Sounds like the governator gets it:

California Residents:

UPDATE 9/27/06 The Bill Passed!

Governor Schwarzenegger Signs Legislation to Outlaw Inhumane Dog Tethering

Governor Schwarzenegger announced the signing of SB 1578 by Senator Alan Lowenthal (D-Long Beach) that would prohibit dog owners from the cruel practice of tethering their pets to stationary objects for more than three hours.

SB 1578 outlaws the tethering of a dog for more than three hours. Tethering a dog will result in an infraction or misdemeanor, depending on the offense, punishable by a fine not to exceed $1,000 per dog and/or up to six months in a county jail.

Posted June 09, 2009, 12:16PM by Jillhende

We do have that law passed here in Texas and let me tell ya it doesn't do squat here in San Antonio.
You can call the police about it and they don't do anything. They have to also find that they aren't taken care of etc. Usually that doesn't even do anything. These laws are a start but far from where we need to be.

Posted June 09, 2009, 10:18PM by Kelly4cats

What happens if the owners do not comply with the law that is if it can even be proven that the dog was chained for more than 14 hours? Will this just mean more dogs will be given up or confiscated by animal control? We don't want these dogs to die because of this. I am really against giving more power to animal control just as giving more power to the government. They always find some way to make things worse.

Posted June 09, 2009, 8:2PM by myboyz

YIPPPPEEEE !!!!! Kudos to Best Friends for staying on this mission & being successful at helping those precious lives who are chained up endless hours upon endless hours! May the dogs of Nevada never have to worry about being left on a chain!!! It's all for the animals!

Posted June 10, 2009, 4:44PM by Jillhende

Let me correct myself I mean Nevada not LV.
And Dogs deserve better is nationwide.

http://www.dogsdeservebetter.org/home.html

I reread my post and it wasn't very clear. THis is a great group working for this very cause.

Posted June 12, 2009, 4:17PM by shaunp

I wish there was a law preventing dogs from ever being chained. A few years back my neighbors tied up their 100+ pound yellow lab to their palm tree on 4th of July on a rope about 20 feet long. We were on the roof watching fireworks and when they were over I went in the backyard to check on him. Just in a couple of minutes he had tangled himself aroung the swingset and was being strangled. I was screaming for help because he was so heavy I couldn't move him. I ripped off most of my fingernails trying to pry him loose. When my husband came to help me Charley just lay limp. We were getting ready to take him to emergency when the neighbors came home. We put him on a board to load in the car and they took him in. I found out the next day that he didn't make it. Even though this was in 2002, it still makes me cry to remember how senseless this was.

Posted June 09, 2009, 2:56PM by Veenie

Such good news. Hopefully it will help all those suffering animals. Down here in North Carolina that's usually all you see--dogs tied up in the backyard, as far from the house as can be, and totally ignored--as though they're not part of the family. Why do they have dogs if they're not allowed in the house or tied up all day?? Just because there's a dog house doesn't mean it's humane. So, so sad.