ORD-2008-069 - Proposed Animal Ordinance Amendment on the Tethering of Dogs

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more. He said that this issue came to the Animal Services Advisory Board from the community as a serious issue for the community to consider and address and to seek to resolve. He thinks that the concerned citizens have driven the process that staff has pursued. One of the citizens advisory boards appointed by the Board was the Tethering. Committee, which met more than six times. in 2007. This resulted in a proposal for the ordinance amendment. The Animal Services Advisory Board has considered this issue five additional times. He said that he would underscore that the Tethering Committee and the ASAB have tried to balance some conflicting concerns. He said that there are some exceptions to the three -hour tethering limit and the proposal is not an outright prohibition of tethering. He said that there. has been a strong commitment to encourage education and seek to implement this amendment over a period of time that would span 18 months, 12 of which would be dedicated to education and awareness. After the first 12 months, there will be another six -month period in which the new ordinance amendment would not be fully enforced, but would be enforced with warnings. The amendment would become effective and fully enforced as of January 1, 2010 and would become effective as of July 1, 2009. Vice -Chair of the ASAB, Susan Elmore recognized the Animal Servic=es staff. She said that there are strong passions concerning this issue on both sides of the fence. She said that she is here in support of this proposal. She pointed out pages 16 -17 of the Tethering Committee report, which outlines the tasks of the committee. She said that the committee considered all of the concerns on both sides. Commissioner Nelson commended the Tethering Committee and said that it was hands down the best committee he has worked on, everyone genuinely listened to each other, and there was a tremendous amount of discussion on this topic. He said that the committee really listened to the community and the staff was extraordinary. Commissioner Carey commended Bob Marotto and said that the ASAB worked really hard to be reasonable and to educate regularly. He thinks that the proposal reflects the character of what the County Commissioners are trying to do in Orange County. Chair Jacobs said that there are 22 people signed up to speak and he encouraged people not to repeat what previous speakers have said. PUBLIC COMMENT: Lori Hensley is a volunteer on the Coalition to Unchain Dogs and she said that they build fences for owners of dogs that cannot afford them. The coalition also provides free spay and neuter and vaccinations for the pets. She said that this type of ordinance gives Animal Control another tool for enforcement. She said that most people want better for their dogs, but they need to be shown that there is a better way to do things. She read an email from the neighbor of a person who received a fence from the coalition for a dog that was continuously chained in Chapel Hill. " I just have to tell you that your civilizing Neptune has also civilized the entire family. Now whenever I stop by to see my neighbor, Neptune is either sitting on the front porch with a family member, playing in the house, or when he sees my car coming running down the stairs to greet and kiss me. He even has his meals inside now and sleeps beside the bed. See how the beauty of your work spreads to others. So much abuse and neglect are due to just plain ignorance, are they not ?" She said that this is not the only situation where the Coalition has helped dogs. She asked the County Commissioners to approve the ordinance to limit the chaining of dogs. Henri McClees is a lobbyist for the North Carolina Sporting Dog Association, which is a coalition of dog owners, dog breeders, and dog clubs. She said that the membership's philosophy is that animals do not have rights, but people have rights and responsibilities. They do not believe that this proposal meets the needs of the animals, and they are certain that it does not meet the needs of the people. She said that it is a bad idea, it is not needed, it is not