by Julie Hauserman
When a helpless, chained dog drowned during heavy rains outside Charleston, W. Va., the community took a hard look in the mirror.
Before the heartbreaking incident, a citizen had called the county to complain that the distressed pet was left chained alone, day after day, in heat and in cold. An animal control officer went to check on the dog, but couldn’t file charges because tethering dogs wasn’t against the law Kanawha County.
Spurred Into Action
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Chained dogs are isolated from any kind of healthy social interaction which can lead to enormous psychological damage.© iStock |
It is now. This summer, after a citizens’ movement for change, the Kanawha County Commission passed an ordinance that bans people from tethering unattended dogs. The county, which includes the city of Charleston, joins more than 100 communities in 30 states that have restricted or banned the tethering unattended dogs.
“Terrible things happen to dog on chains,” says Ann Church, Virginia and West Virginia senior state director for The Humane Society of the United States. “While tragic, this dog didn’t die in vain. Because of him, so many other dogs will have better lives.”
Isolation on a Chain
Dogs are naturally social beings who thrive on interaction with human beings and other animals. Continuously chained dogs can suffer immense psychological damage. Otherwise friendly and docile dogs can become neurotic, unhappy, anxious and often aggressive.
Local WCHS TV anchorwoman Deborah Linz became a leader in the movement to provide more compassionate care for local dogs. She’d grown up with dogs as part of her family and couldn’t fathom banishing them outside on a chain.
A few years ago, the reporter spearheaded a new law in the City of Charleston that limited people to chaining dogs outside during certain hours and certain weather conditions. But such restrictions are often hard for animal control officers to enforce. For 850-square-mile Kanawha County, Linz believed that a total ban made more sense.
“I had pictures of dogs with collars embedded in their necks,” Linz said. “One dog’s hind end was frozen to a step in winter. Another chained dog got hung up on a fence and died.”
Teaching Compassion
Linz and others worked to educate the community about the sad lives of chained dogs. She blew up photographs provided by local animal control officers to show county commissioners the cruelty of leaving dogs on chains.
Kanawha County Commissioner Kent Carper agreed to push for the county anti-chaining law.
“Once you become educated about this, you realize that chaining makes these animals become more aggressive, and it makes them prey for other animals. They can’t get away,” Carper said. “We saw such abuse and cruelty.”
“Tethering bans are great because, not only are they easy to enforce by Animal Control Officers, but they can prevent dogs from being stuck on a chain their entire lives,” said Adam Goldfarb, director of The HSUS’ Pets At Risk program.
Carper now refers to the Kanawha County ordinance as “The Linz Law,” after Linz’s single-minded work to unchain Charleston’s dogs.
“I hope this spreads throughout our state,” Linz said. “And I hope that this prevents continued cruelty. I’m tired of driving around and seeing dogs live their entire lives on the end of a chain.”
Learn more about how you can help unchain dogs in your community»
