Chainfree Bristol

After a word by word review of all concerns brought forward at the Dec. 6th, 2011 Bristol, TN City Council Meeting...  we have listed them here along with our response. Please contact us with your additions or comments! 

City and Citizen Objections:

1.  Restrictions/bans are not widely adopted in other  jurisdictions. (City Manager, Jeff Broughton)  

2. If chaining is OK   during the day, chaining is OK at night time.  (Citizen Jones)

3. Security in backyards would be eliminated. (Citizen Jones)

4. Some people can not afford a fence.    (Citizen Jones)

 5. Some deed restrictions do not allow fences.  (Citizen Jones) 

6. Fences do not muffle dog barking.  (Citizen Jones)

7. There are already laws on the books that are sufficient to deal with dog noise and inhumane treatment.  (Citizen Jones)

8. More dogs will be taken to the pound.

(Citizen Jones)

9. Some solutions would be hard to enforce.

     (Council person, Michelle Dolan)

10. Encroachment on property rights: dogs are considered personal property.

11. Relocating corporations look for less restrictions, not more.

 (Citizen Jones)

12. Proposed ordinance did not consider sporting, hunting or service dogs.   (Citizen Hyde)

13. People with allergies can not keep dogs indoors. (Citizen Hyde)

14. Does not address graveyard shift workers who leave dog chained outside while they work.     (Council Person, Ben Zandi)

15. “Break-in” period not long enough. Council Person, Margaret Feierabend)

16. Not an ordinance that works for all the people, all the time. (Council Person, Ben Zandi)

17. Underground fencing does not protect backyard dog from being attacked by other dogs.  (Council Person, Joel Staton)

18. Small back porch crates would replace chains or tethers, which would be worse for the dogs.  (Citizen Hyde)

19. If citizens are going to abuse their dogs… they will… with or without an ordinance.  (Citizen Hyde)

  CHAINFREE BRISTOL RESPONSES: 

1.  Entire States have restrictions: CA, CT, NV, TX, VA and WV.  According to unchainyourdog.org (10/19/11), currently in the USA, 68 cities/municipalities have restricted or limited chaining and 32 PROHIBIT chaining or tethering with the numbers growing steadily. 

New ordinances are being rapidly developed across America. Some efforts have not yet been recognized or recorded on existing websites. Many are underway.  But it is not about what other communities do… it is about what we choose to do in our own City.

2. Chaining a dog full time is never OK. Council’s suggested ordinance may NOT be the best solution and was NOT the recommendation of Chainfree Bristol although we appreciated Council taking ANY step that would improve the lives of permanently restrained dogs.

3.  Outside Dogs: Why Protection is No Excuse by Dennis Fetko, PhD     www.drdog.com

If your dog is for protection, what do you think I want to steal -- your lawn?  When you leave, do you put your valuables and your kids out in your yard? Just what is the dog protecting out there? Most dogs kept outside cause far more nuisance complaints from barking and escaping than any deterrent to intrusion. Such complaints include teasing, antagonism, release and poisoning. If the dog is tied up and an intruder keeps out of reach, there is no security. The dog will bark, but outside dogs bark so much, they're usually ignored.

Protection and aggression are not the same. Protection is defensive, reactive, often passive, and threatens or injures no one. Aggression is active, harmful and offensive; threatens all and benefits none. Yard dogs often develop far more aggression than protectiveness because everyone who passes by or enters has already violated the territory that dog has marked dozens of times a day for years. That's not protection, it's not desirable and it overlooks two facts of life today:

First, property owners have implied social contracts with others in the community. Letter carriers, paper boys, delivery people, law enforcement, emergency medical personnel, meter readers and others are allowed near and at times on your property without your specific permission. And sure that ten-year-old was not supposed to come into your yard after his Frisbee; but neither you nor your dogs are allowed to cause him injury if he does. Imagine this: A neighbor looks into your yard or window and sees you, your wife or child lying on the floor in a pool of blood. They call 911 and your dog prevents paramedics from assisting! Should they shoot your dog or just let you die? Great choice.

Second, even if the intruder is a criminal, few places allow you or your dog to cause physical injury to prevent property loss. Convicted felons have sued the dog's owner from jail and won more in the suit than they ever could have stolen! Appalling? True.

The more a dog is outdoors, the less behavioral control you have. It's easier to solve four or five indoor problems than one outdoor problem. The reason is valid and simple: The more you control the stimulus that reaches your dog, the more you control the responses. You've got a lot more control over your living room than you do over your entire county! When your dog is bored, but teased by every dog, cat, bird, squirrel, motorcycle, paperboy, airplane, firecracker and backfiring truck in the county, OF COURSE he'll dig, chew, and bark.  Would you sit still all day everyday? Do you want unnecessary medical fees and parasites, especially as the dog ages?

When a dog is alone indoors, you are still 30% there because your scent and things he associates with you, constantly remind the dog of you and your training. When he's out, your dog is alone whether you're home or not. Do you really expect him to keep YOU in mind while the entire world teases, distracts and stimulates him?

The media is full of stories about the family dog saving everyone's life during a fire. How many people, including children, would be dead today if those dogs were kept outside? An outdoor dog has an address, not a home. Dogs offer real value as companion animals. Stop behavior problems and start enjoying real protection and companionship. Bring your dogs inside.

4. Bringing your dog indoors is free. Electronic fences cost as little as $150.  Welded wire fences are easy to install and materials for a 25’ x 25’ enclosure would cost less than $300.  There are organizations like Chainfree Bristol willing to help fund fences, but the main issue is that owning a dog is not an entitlement… it comes with responsibilities. Pet owners have the responsibility of  choosing a pet that they are capable of caring for properly. It is often that Cities must legislate in order to get citizens to be responsible for their “personal property”.

5. This is part of the choice citizens have to make. If I am choosing to live in a residence that doesn’t allow pets or has rules about fencing that prevents me from fencing my pet then I must decide if I want to live elsewhere or find a new home for my pet.  That is a choice I make knowing the rules of the housing unit. Responsible choices have to be made by pet owners.

6. Neither does chaining or tethering your dog. Dogs do not come trained. It is the job of the pet owner to appropriately train the dog regarding barking. Constant barking is usually a behavior problem and is usually much worse when a dog is perpetually restrained by a chain or tether.

7. Chainfree Bristol agees with this to an extent. Regarding barking and noise: the current laws in the City of Bristol TN include: Section 10-41 which states, “It shall be unlawful for any person to keep or harbor a dog which by loud or frequent habitual barking, yelping, or howling shall cause serious annoyance to the neighborhood in which it is kept”.

Also on the books are: 10-2  Running at Large, 10-3  Sanitation of pens and enclosures, 10-4  Food Establishments,   10-5  Creation of Nuisance,                      10-8  Keeping of Dogs and Cats Regulated,    10-9 Quarantines Authorized,  10-10 Impoundment and/or Destruction of Animals Running at Large, 10-14 Animal Waste,                       10-43 Running at Large Restricted,   10-44 Impoundment of Certain Dogs ad Cats Authorized,  10-45 Consequences of Keeping Unlicensed Dog or Cat,

And 10-46 Tethering of Dogs which allows lifetime, unattended chaining with certain restrictions for weight and length of chain and requirements for shelter, etc.

Otherwise, none of the existing ordinances acknowledge that the lifetime chaining of dogs is inhumane or have any restrictions against lifetime chaining.

10-6  Cruelty to Animals ...states “...it shall be unlawful to transport or confine an animal in a cruel manner”.  Most Bristolians believe that 24/7 lifetime, unattended chaining is confining an animal in a cruel manner. Our laws should reflect this definition of cruelty.

8. Yes, some will go to the pound. Ones where the dogs are NOT members of the family unit.  Dogs that are just kept for a lawn ornament or who are never socialized or trained by pet owners (and thus not welcome indoors)… and when the pet owner can not or will not obtain the appropriate fencing. 

Statistics and research shows that this may indeed happen in the beginning of a ban but would soon end as people consider what is allowed and become educated about alternatives to chaining.  Eventually folks would not get a dog until they figure out how they are going to house/fence the dog.  It would make for more responsible decision making by our citizens and a better environment for the dogs.

9. Absolutely. It depends on the law/ordinance selected to be implemented.  A sunset to sunrise banning will be hard to enforce because no animal control officers are on duty during this time of day.

Some cities have one or two hour per day exception to a total ban.  This gives pet owners an opportunity to chain their dogs for short periods of time for whatever reason and is much easier to enforce. After all, there is a big difference in the surroundings of a dog permanently restrained (no grass, circle of dirt) than a dog put out on a tether for no more than a few hours per day. Probably something an animal officer could tell without having to get out of his car .

The easiest solution to enforce would be a total ban on the inhumane practice of lifetime, unattended chaining of dogs.  If a dog is chained or tethered, and the pet owner is not outside with the animal, the pet owner is in violation. Period. This approach has been successfully adopted by Asheville, NC and other municipalities.  However, it may involve Animal Control Officers having to get out of their cars.

10. Although dogs are considered personal property, they are still living creatures that must be cared for by their owners in a residential/urban environment.  It is now understood that the lifetime chaining of a dog is cruel confinement and thus inhumane. 

But  property rights are another issue. Our nation is built on the concept of property rights which include a bundle of rights bestowed on the property owner at the time property is acquired: possession, control, exclusion, peaceful enjoyment, disposition.

Property owners surrounded by lifetime chained dogs are being denied the basic property right of enjoyment by being subjected to the sight, sounds and smells that come from permanently restrained dogs.

University of Illinois Extension Services states “as demands and pressures increase for stronger public programs to direct land use, private property owners may fear that such societal attitude shifts may adversely affect them. They may worry about being stripped of certain rights. Excepting this change requires recognizing the rights that owners enjoy in private property are balanced by responsibilities. Property owners need to use land or other streams of benefit in a manner that does not impact negatively on others and to use practices that serve the basic community interest.”

11. According to investopedia.com “Laws are created by governments in regards to how individuals can control, benefit from and transfer property. Economic theory contends that government enforcement of strong property rights is a determinate regarding the level of economic success seen in the area.”

The comment was made that relocating businesses want less restrictions, not more”. Our research shows that relocating companies want an educated work force, plentiful housing, ability expand their holdings, to explore underdeveloped markets and have a good living environment for their employees. Relocating business have interest in less economic controls for sure.  But they want to have their employees to live in safe, attractive and affordable community. Chained dogs are neither safe nor attractive for any community and therefore not an attribute desired by most relocating business owners. 

12. A ban on the lifetime, unattended chaining of dogs would not preclude a hunter from hunting with his dog. Nor restrain any sportsman and his dog in areas where their sport is lawful.

13. A fenced outdoor enclosure would eliminate the need to chain the dog.

14. The graveyard worker would be able to use a fenced enclosure to keep his dog outdoors while he is at work. The dog does not have to be chained.

15. Agreed!  A period of education (by the City and by nonprofit groups like Chainfree Bristol), and preparation time is a must. We recommend one year. But maybe up to 2 years is necessary. Asheville had 18 months which was found to be sufficient for their citizenry. 

16. It is not about pleasing all the people… it is about doing what is right. What is the best possible thing for our community as a whole. Not what is the best thing for a few who are unable or unwilling to evolve in their understanding of inhumane treatment. Again, 24/7 lifetime, unattended chaining is inhumane.

17. Neither does chaining. In fact a chained dog can not have a chance to escape by any means.

18. We agree! Language should be included in any new ordinance that would define a minimum standard for enclosure size for outdoor dogs.

19. Yes. But if someone is going to commit murder… they will, regardless of laws prohibiting murder.  But we as a civilized society have laws prohibiting murder anyway.