Dogs tethered in freezing weather may spur ordinance

MANSFIELD – At-Large Mansfield City Councilman Don Bryant will call Tuesday night for a local ordinance penalizing pet owners who endanger animals by leaving them tethered outdoors too long during freezing weather.

Bryant said he was spurred to contact the city law director's office concerning that issue, after he received a call from a woman who was concerned about dogs kept chained outdoors during a sustained freeze, with temperatures repeatedly dipping below zero.

The councilman said he later heard from others who supported the idea, after posting something on the issue on social media. "People were telling me they just don't want dogs tied up during extreme temperatures, either hot or cold," he said.

A Humane Society representative and two other concerned people will speak about the issue at Mansfield city council Tuesday, at a meeting that starts with a 7 p.m. caucus.

The city of Cleveland adopted an ordinance in 2012 that limits the amount tethering outdoors that dog owners may do, and he would like Mansfield to consider something similar, Bryant said.

Mansfield Law Director John Spon said he would consider language designed to safeguard one group of animals that may currently be outside the protection of city ordinances: animals their owners would define as outside guard dogs.

"I would support anti-tethering legislation 110 percent. I think it's long overdue," Richland County Dog Warden Dave Jordan said Friday.

Jordan said he has been in contact with other agencies with concerns about current law being too vague - and was considering approaching Mansfield city council to tighten up its ordinance.

The ordinance adopted in Cleveland limits a dog owner to tethering the animal outside no more than six hours a day, with no more than two hours tethered at a time, and with an hour in between.

"I would love to see an anti-tethering ordinance here," Jordan said.

"Any time it gets below freezing, it can be dangerous for the dog," he said.

The dog warden said he has talked to local veterinarians who have treated dogs for frostbite.

"With the extreme winter we have had this year, who knows how many dogs have perished, that we didn't hear about," he said.

Mansfield currently has two different ordinances concerning treatment of animals:

The first, a 27-year-old ordinance related to animals in general, prohibits cruel treatment, and forbids keeping animals confined without sufficient food and water, or confining them without making shelter from wind, rain or snow available. But it does not specifically deal with keeping animals outdoor in especially cold weather, Spon said.

The second, adopted in 2011, prohibits cruelty to "companion" animals, such as dogs, cats, rabbits or hamsters. An owner, caretaker or custodian who negligently deprives a companion animal from access to shelter ouside from cold temperatures, whether tethered or not, the law director said. Violation of that ordinance involves a first degree misdemeanor for a first-time offender, and possible felony charge for subsequent offenses.

However, if someone is keeping what they would call a guard dog housed outdoors, rather than an indoor companion pet, that ordinance "would not provide protection for those animals from cold weather," Spon said.

"If there is a more specific ordinance and more modern language we can adopt here to provide for more humane treatment of those animals, we will certainly support it," Spon said.

Jordan said state law barring cruelty is meant to provide protection to dogs kept outdoors from weather that is too hot or cold, but is "too vague." It does not take into account either temperature or the amount of warmth a particular coat's breed provides, he said.

The dog warden recently told the owner of a hound dog (a short haired breed) he did not think that animal was safe from the freezing weather, housed in an open box with a roof and four walls, but no front flap and no insulation.

"His argument was, 'this is an outside guard dog,'" Jordan said. "I told him, your dog may or may not die - but I can guarantee you, he is miserable."

While some dog owners subscribe to the old-school belief that dogs should be housed outside, Jordan does not agree.

He tells people that a "guard dog" kept outdoors won't have much effect against a burglar, but an indoor dog is in a position to 'neutralize' a criminal trying to break in.

"Another benefit of having an anti-tethering ordinance is that you wouldn't have near the barking complaints you get," Jordan said. "When dogs are kept outside, they will bark at anything."

Spon said an ordinance related to tethering would have to be carefully written to include inhumane treatment, but not result in unfair sanctions.

"There are some issues that could complicate it," he said. "If you put a dog out 10 or 20 minutes to do it's business, it couldn't be a crime."

lmartz@gannett.com

419-521-7229

Twitter: @MNJmartz