Some Carroll County residents say they plan to attend a public hearing tonight to rail against a proposed amendment to county code that would ban dog owners from leaving the animals chained outside overnight.

“Not everybody has a lap dog. There are people with hunting and farm dogs, and people like me who give their dogs a choice, and she prefers the outside,” said Patricia Backus, a nurse who lives in Sykesville and owns an 8-year-old Siberian Husky named Cherokee.