Petition drive calls for strengthened tethering ordinance

Aug. 8—As daytime temperatures hover near triple digits, there are growing concerns about the county's tethering ordinance.

Critics want county commissioners to write a new ordinance that provides more protection for dogs tethered outside for hours at a time in all weather conditions.

Lynn Stephens, a volunteer with No Kill Glynn, said a petition is being circulated asking for a new ordinance that has more protections for tethered dogs.

In a perfect world, tethering would be banned in the Golden Isles, but Stephens said she understands there are circumstances where tethering a dog may be a person's only option. She just doesn't want to see them tethered with no restrictions on how long they can remain outside.

Some dogs are tethered because they don't live in a place with a fenced-in yard. Other dogs are tethered because their owners don't have the health or time to take their pets for a walk.

Stephanie Schafer, a No Kill Glynn volunteer, said the petition she is circulating has more than 2,500 signatures already. She plans to present it to county commissioners at an upcoming meeting.

Glynn County Commissioner Bill Brunson described tethering as a "horrible practice," especially in the hot summer heat. He believes some dogs are tethered outside for security purposes.

But Brunson questioned if a stronger ordinance is the solution.

"I don't know how you would enforce it," he said. "I will support anything as long as it's enforceable."

Schafer said she has made four presentations to county commissioners to point out the flaws in the existing tethering ordinance which allows a dog owner to keep a dog on a six-foot tether to a stationary object outside its entire life regardless of the weather.

Dogs on short tethers are virtually helpless to defend themselves and become more aggressive because they cannot run away when threatened by another dog.

Schafer said she has sent county commissioners copies of three different tethering ordinances in Georgia cities that could be used as a template for a stronger local ordinance.

"County commissioners have failed to act, at all," she said. "You need to make this law humane."

Commission Chairman Wayne Neal said he "has a love of animals as deep as anyone" but he said it's challenging to create a tethering ordinance that is fair to everyone. He said it's difficult to investigate complaints and some calls could be personal disputes that have nothing to do with the welfare of an animal.

"It gets really tough when you try to make it too strong," Neal said.