A chained dog is an unhealthy and unhappy dog

On Monday, May 20, 2019 the Westchester County Board of Legislators (BOL) passed a tether law to help protect vulnerable animals tied up outside. CLAAW has been working with Westchester County legislators to create a law that will help to remedy the long list of problems associated with leaving animals chained and unattended.

There was an earlier version of the law that would allow dogs to be chained for 17 hours, unattended. CLAAW delivered information to the Westchester BOL that showed how unattended dogs who are tied up for long hours are among other issues, susceptible to:

• Neglect and disregard by irresponsible owners
• Unexpected weather conditions such as severe storms
• Attacks from other animals who come at the chained dog who has no way to escape
• Loss of access to water if water bowl is overturned
• Abuse by people who take advantage of the dog’s helplessness
• Theft by unscrupulous people who may sell the dog to animal labs or to others who profit off the misery of animals
• Community nuisance problems with a frantic and frustrated dog continuously barking for hours on end

With these issues in mind, the proposed law was amended to include a requirement that a responsible party is on the premises when the dog is tethered. This means that someone can’t just tie up the dog and leave for hours while the dog is at the mercy of the world around her/him.

In addition to the issues listed above, there are other issues which include psychological and neurotic issues associated with being trapped by the chain for too much of tethered dogs’ lives. We will continue to fight for an even stronger law that does not allow dogs to be tethered for long lengths of time but we believe that the requirement, in this new law, to have someone there with the dog at all times, is a step in the right direction.

Thank you to all who signed our petition and to the Westchester County Legislators who worked hard to get this important law on the books.