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A Legislation would forbid chaining dogs between 10PM and 6AM
BILL O ’ BOYLE
boboyle@timesleader.com
Cindy Starke has seen a lot in her years at the Luzerne County
Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.
Stake, shelter manager at the Plains A Township facility, especially
remembers cases whree dogs have been severely injured from being
tethered for extended periods of time.
That’s why Starke and the SPCA and the Humane Society of the
United
States are supporting passage of House Bill 1065 by the Pennsylvania
Legislature that puts restrictions on tethering. The bill is expected
to become law.
One tethering-abuse case in particular came to light in Luzerne
County in 2005. Starke said a man and his son happened upon a dog
left
abandoned on the side of the road. The dog was near death, so they
brought it to the SPCA for treatment.
“It was pretty disgusting,” Starke said.
The dog, a terrier mix, had been tethered outside and neglected.
Starke said the owners, who were found guilty of several charges, fed
the dog, but did little else.
Starke said the dog had a deep wound around its neck that was
crawling with maggots. The dog was near death; in fact, Starke said
the owners intended to destroy the dog but apparently nixed that idea
and left the dog to die on the side of the road.
But this story has a happy ending. The dog has recovered after
treatment, including surgeries, and is living with the father and son
who found him and brought him to the SPCA.
The Pennsylvania bill would forbid chaining dogs between 10 p.m. and
6 a.m. Violators could be cited for cruelty, and, upon conviction,
their dog could be seized. Tethering during the day and early evening
would be allowed if shelter and food and clean water were provided.
In
a compromise with the farm lobbyists, farmers would be exempt.
The bill is with the Appropriations Committee and state Rep. Mike
Carroll, D-Avoca, co-sponsor of the bill, is certain it will pass
when
it returns to the House floor. The bill was proposed by state Rep.
Mario M. Scavello, R-Monroe County, after several incidents of animal
cruelty were uncovered in his region. The cases specifically involved
animals that were tethered.
“We (SPCA) do support the bill,” Starke said of HB 1065. “Our
adoption policy states that dogs adopted from here are not to be tied
up. We have seen cases where dogs have been tethered their entire
lives. Dogs are social animals; they enjoy interaction with people
and other animals. Tethering affects their demeanor and their behavior.
Imagine what it would be like to be tied up 24 hours a day, seven
days
a week.”
Starke said there needs to be more clarity on the exemptions allowed
in the bill before it is passed.
“The bill is in appropriations to assure that enactment of this
law
would not have any financial impact on the Commonwealth,” Carroll
said. “I have had a tremendous response to this from quite a number
of
people in the community who are interested in animal rights.”
Carroll said a public hearing held in Monroe County was attended by
hundreds of supporters.
Since 2003, at least 23 children nationwide have been killed and at
least 170 injured when they were attacked by chained dogs, according
to the Altoona-based anti-chaining advocacy group, Dogs Deserve
Better.
Fourteen states, including New Jersey, have considered tethering
bills this year, compared with five last year. Of the 14, California,
Maryland, Texas and Tennessee have passed them.
According to the Humane Society of the United States, which has
lobbied for the Pennsylvania bill, anti-tethering ordinances approved
by municipalities have also increased, though apparently none exist
in
Pennsylvania.
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