Everybody likes a good dog story ? but the dog stories that dozens of witnesses told the House Judiciary Committee last week were tales of horror, not happiness.
A series of veterinarians, animal rescuers and humane society workers were there to testify on a bill by Del. Susan McComas, R-Harford County, that would prohibit chaining an unattended dog from midnight until 6 a.m. and during severe storms and excessively hot or frigid weather. The measure also seeks to discourage choke-type collars.
“Tethering a dog or any animal is cruel,” McComas told the committee on which she serves. “Animals cannot speak, so I?m here to stand up for their rights. When dogs are tethered for long periods of time they can become very aggressive, and may be dangerous to passersby and even to their owners. They are more likely to bite.”
“An otherwise friendly and happy dog when continually restrained and isolated often becomes neurotic, unhappy, anxious and aggressive,” said Frank Branchini of the Humane Society of Baltimore County, who testified for a number of Baltimore-area organizations in favor of the bill.
He cited a study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that chained dogs are 2.8 times more likely to bite and 5.4 times more likely to bite children than unchained dogs are. According to Branchini, 112 children in the United States were killed or seriously injured by chained dogs in the last three years.
“The chain doesn?t really address the issue of a dangerous dog,” Branchini said.
Veterinarians testified the chained dogs often suffer permanent injuries from poorly fitted collars or chains as they pull or strain against them.
Sen. Norman Stone, D-Baltimore County, has sponsored a similar bill, which has passed the Senate in a previous session, McComas said. Montgomery County already has legislation prohibiting tethering a dog from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m., as well as having other features of the McComas bill.
No one at the hearing spoke in opposition to the bill, but similar bills have had trouble getting out of the Judiciary Committee in the past.
