A state lawmaker intends to introduce legislation to curb tethering laws, which will affect pet owners.
According to the Pennsylvania House of Representatives Democratic Caucus website, Rep. James Casorio Jr. (D-56) has announced he is working with animal welfare and other groups to draft the legislation. Tethering involves chaining dogs to a stationary object.
Karen Kolos, executive director of the Warren County Humane Society, said she supports such a ban.
However, Kolos said she understands there are different reasons why dogs would be outside and is not against the practice by hunters and farmers.
Dr. Kent Wiggers of the Warren Veterinary Hospital said he hasn't seen health effects of the practice other than dogs spraining their leg from getting it caught in a chain.
Kolos said many dogs she sees are attached to big log chains, and that she often thinks what it would feel like to have it on her neck.
Dogs isolated from people are often not socialized, Kolos said, and can get loose and bite people. Dogs are social animals, she emphasized, and need to be trained and feel like part of a family.
One alternative is a kennel situation, Kolos said, with a 10 foot by 10 foot area surrounded by a fence and containing a dog house where the animal can move freely. The area must be cleaned and dogs still need time out of the area in order to exercise daily, she added.
Owners could also have buried electrical fences and have their dog wear a shock collars to keep them on their property, Wiggers said, but he was unsure how the method goes along with laws already enacted to keep pets under control.
Over half of the cruelty complaints Kolos said she goes on involve dogs that are tied outside, where they lack proper shelter, living in dog houses containing holes and no floors.
Some people believe the myth if dogs are tied up they will protect the owner's home, Kolos said, but this is the furthest from the truth. Those wanting protection should put their dogs inside, she added, because outside animals will not help.
Animals must feel attached to a family in order to protect it, Kolos said, and outside dogs may become friendly towards neighbors and find it hard to distinguish between friends and enemies.
Wiggers pointed out dogs must be kept under control somehow to prevent them from being hit by cars.
When puppies don't work out as inside dogs, Kolos said some owners believe the answer is to tie them up outside.
