Nov 27, 2007 11:27 pm US/Eastern
New Law Might Make Tethering Your Dog Illegal
MEDLEY (CBS4) ―
Changes to the way you tie up your pet could be coming to dog owners in Miami-Dade County, even if your pet is in your own backyard.
Ask almost anyone at your local dog park what they think about tethering an animal and you'll probably get a response like this: "I've seen that and it's disgusting," said dog owner Tony Dealmeida.
Animal activists post pictures of tethered dogs on their websites. Ozzie Flowers used to think tethering was no big deal. As a matter of fact, he tied up a Dalmatian his used to own in his yard.
"I think it's cruel and inhumane," said Flowers, who is a current dog owner.
But one day, "Two dogs from across the street came and they attacked him and he couldn't do anything. So I learned from that experience because he was tethered at time and because of something like that I never tethered a dog again," said Flowers.
Reactions like this one have prompted Miami-Dade animal services to push for a new local law banning tying dogs to any stationary object, such as a house, fence or post.
If this law passes you are still allowed to tie your dog up, as long as you stay near them and keep a very close eye. What you can't do is tie your dog up and leave them all alone.
Animal services Assistant Director Robert Santos says this proposal will also protect the public.
"Tying a dog is not a good idea," said Santos. "Behaviorists will say that the dog becomes very aggressive, that their social skills are diminished, and we want to minimize that."
Even though no one would say it on camera,
CBS4 News did find some folks who didn't think tethering was cruel.
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