FL: Jacksonville/Duval Heads Up! Tethering Bill Being Proposed FYI

Jacksonville council eyeing new limits on tethering pets
The panel could ban the use of heavy chains to restrain dogs.
Posted: April 22, 2013 - 12:49am | Updated: April 22, 2013 - 12:55am
By Steve Patterson

Jacksonville’s City Council could decide this week whether to put tougher limits on pet owners’ use of tethers to keep animals on their property.

That decision might be put off past Tuesday’s council meeting. And enforcement of whatever council members decide may not start until 2015.

But the bill (2013-164) the council is considering could be significant to dog owners, banning use of heavy chains as restraints and requiring a tether that allows a wider range of motion than a simple stake in the ground.

“What we’re trying to accomplish is to protect the public and provide for the safety of the dog,” said Renee Rivard, legislative representative for the Florida chapter of the League of Humane Voters.

But she said changes a council panel made last week dampened her enthusiasm for the measure, adding: “… they’ve weakened the ordinance so much that it’s not even worth passing.”

Instead of leaving a dog tied to a single stake, the new rules would require an owner to set up a line between two points — trees, for example — that are at least 15 feet apart. The pet would have to be able to move 10 feet in any direction along the line. Chain can be used in the tether, but links can’t be more than 2.5 millimeters thick.

An animal couldn’t be tethered if it was less than a year old or sick or injured.

Studies have shown that animals tethered to a single point can become aggressive and a danger to passers-by, Animal Care and Protective Services Chief Scott Trebatoski told council members last week.

He said the tethering system the bill envisions can be assembled from items bought at Lowe’s for about $35.

People violating the rules could be fined $500.

Advocates for tethering changes point to the March 2012 death of Dylan Andres, a 17-month-old Jacksonville boy attacked by a Rottweiler after wandering away from his mother while she carried groceries into the family home. The Rottweiler was chained to a pole, and its owner was not home when the attack happened.

But Rivard said Friday she would prefer that the council put off a final decision until the council’s Public Health and Safety Committee can review the legislation and changes proposed by the council Rules Committee.

The health and safety committee had been scheduled to debate the bill last week but didn’t have enough members present for a quorum and legally couldn’t act.

The bill’s sponsor, Councilman Reggie Brown, said he planned to ask for it to be discharged from the committee Tuesday, which would clear the way for a vote by the full council. There had been no sign the committee opposed the bill, Brown said, so he’d like to have it move forward.

The bill contains changes the council Rules Committee made that Rivard said her group disagrees with.

A requirement for a pet owner to be outside and “within the visual range” of the tethered animal was changed to be within 100 feet, allowing the owner to go indoors while a dog stays tied up outside.

The bill was also changed so that any requirement wouldn’t start until October 2015, which Trebatoski told Rules members would allow his agency to get pet owners ready for the new requirements.


http://jacksonville.com/news/metro/...ille-council-eyeing-new-limits-tethering-pets

 

That is a shame you need someone to go down there and speak on the behalf of dog owners who use, "tethers."

"..and requiring a tether that allows a wider range of motion than a simple stake in the ground."

How can you have a wider rang of motion than 360 degrees which is what a proper chain set up (tether) allows. An 8' chain allows for 200 sqft and 360 degrees of motion. So a 10 ft chain set up allows for more sqft and range of motion than is being proposed in the new ordinance.

"Advocates for tethering changes point to the March 2012 death of Dylan Andres, a 17-month-old Jacksonville boy attacked by a Rottweiler after wandering away from his mother while she carried groceries into the family home. The Rottweiler was chained to a pole, and its owner was not home when the attack happened."

Tragic, but the result of an irresponsible parent, and not caused by the tether.

 

Stupid shit. I live in the Jacksonville area, but I'm out of the county now. Either way, what happens when a strong dog breaks it's "tether", gets loose, and does something crazy? Aren't there already animal cruelty laws on the books? If this isn't a thinly veiled attempt a BSL, what is it hoping to accomplish? I somehow doubt that if your dog gets loose and acts a fool that bringing a receipt from Lowes to court that shows you spent the $35 is going to help your case. I'm pretty sure that a dog's owner has a better idea of what it takes to keep him in the yard than the city council does.

Stupid shit...

 

Tethering sucks, everyone knows it sucks. It's bad for the animal. No reason to tie a dog up outside. If you can't keep your dog inside, then get a horse.

 

So dogs should just run loose, then? You obviously consider yourself some kind of "dog lover", but you seem very naive in your understanding of animals. No animal will ever be 100% under human control. You can trust your animals as much as you like, but some people realize that the predatory side of a dog can come out at any point. With this breed, because of people like you, when it happens there are more consequences than the immediate results of the dog's actions. Responsible people take precautions, like keeping their dogs on leashes when walked and keeping them "tethered" when they are in the yard.

I suppose you don't leave your dog unattended in your yard, ever?

 

you so Damn smart u get a fucking get a horse

 

Proper "tethering" is the most safe and secure way of containing a bulldog...PERIOD. I used to use 24' chains. That is ALOT of room. Personally, I like to rotate dogs from chain-outs, to kennel runs, to crates, to inside the house. I believe it leads to a more well-rounded, socialized, adaptable animal who will be ok with any surrounding or containment system you can throw at them. That's just the way I do it.

Dipshits are under the impression that if you use a chain, it means the dog NEVER comes off of the chain, NEVER gets human affection and interaction, etc. Stupidity sucks and, unfortunately, runs rampant.

 

Since your dumbass is banned I realize you can't answer,but it's this thinking that gets me. Why is it ok for a horse to be outside,and not a dog.At what point do we decide that animals are inside or outside animals. In case you didn't know,animals do live just fine outside. Humans build homes,canines of any breed doesn't and have been living forever in spite of that.