- April 23, 2024
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Flagler County’s animals are getting additional legal protection — but not as much as Flagler Humane Society Executive Director Amy Carotenuto had hoped.
The County Commission on Sept. 16 approved an ordinance that bans animal cruelty and restricts the conditions under which people can tether their dogs outside unattended.
But the ordinance does allow unattended tethering, and was a revision of an earlier proposed ordinance that had largely banned unattended dog tethering. The commission had been scheduled to vote on the earlier version on Aug. 19, but decided to delay its vote after American Kennel Club Government Relations Regional Manager Patty Van Sicklen emailed commissioners stating the AKC’s opposition to the tethering ordinance, which, she wrote, did not "consider humane and necessary use of tethers.”
An issue paper attached to Van Sicklen’s email gives examples of what the A.K.C. considers humane tethering: for instance, using a tether to confine an “escape-artist” dog to a fenced yard; using a tether to tie out a dog in neighborhoods where fences are prohibited; using a tether to confine a dog during a camping trip; or tethering “hunting dogs, field trial dogs, and dogs properly conditioned to be humanely tethered outdoors in conjunction with training, hunting, and events.”
The A.K.C. has opposed similar anti-tethering ordinances elsewhere.
County Administrator Jerry Cameron told board members during the Sept. 16 meeting that he had spoken with an A.K.C representative by phone and reached consent on the proposed ordinance, which was then revised to allow unattended dog tethering if the dog has access to shade and water and the tether isn’t a heavy chain or of a length that would cause the dog to be hanged by the tether if it jumped a fence or other barrier.
But Carotenuto said cases in which dogs are tethered humanely aren’t the sort that come to the attention of the county’s animal control officers.
Speaking at the board meeting Sept. 16, she urged commissioners to reject the amended wording about tethering in the ordinance and instead use the original wording that had been presented at the August meeting.
“Dogs are very social creatures, just like you and I,” she said. “Life on the end of a chain is lonely, boring, frustrating torture.” In addition, she said, chained dogs are three items more likely than unchained dogs to bite, as they can become territorial about their little patch of land, and, because of the chain, feel they can’t escape if threatened.
She listed some of the cases she’d seen that involved chained dogs, like the two in which dogs jumped over barriers and the chain strangled them to death, and the recent case of a chained dog that died of heatstroke.
“Very often, chaining the dog is just a portion of the neglect,” she said. “They suffer from inadequate feedings; they suffer from overturned water bowls.”
In one case, she said, the Flagler Humane Society weighed a chain that a dog had around its neck: It was 17 pounds, about half the weight of the dog. Dogs chained in a yard can become an afterthought for their owners, she said.
Four residents spoke to encourage commissioners to support the more restrictive wording in the original ordinance.
One, Linda Robinson, said that commissioners should value the input of the local Flagler Humane Society, whose mission is to protect animals, over that of the A.K.C.
“The A.K.C. lobbies overwhelmingly in favor of commercial dog breeders,” she said. “They lobby against the basic animal rights bills because it cuts into their registration fees. … Don’t let the A.K.C. influence local legislation.”
The A.K.C.’s lobbying efforts have led some animal rights and welfare organizations, including the Humane Society of the United States, to level similar accusations; the A.K.C. has responded to some of those charges on its website.
Cameron said that in the case of dog tethering, there are competing interests.
“We listened to their input and we took parts of it and integrated it into the existing ordinance, because it was a balancing of interests,” he said. “There are folks that tether because they are camping; they’re hunting; they lose a fence in a hurricane. There are exceptional issues.”
He added that he thought the revised ordinance “hit a balance,” but that it could also be modified in the future, if necessary.
Commissioner Greg Hansen asked if the proposed ordinance would allow a deputy to take action if he sees a tied dog that looks abused. Cameron said that would depend on the circumstances, but that the deputy would be able to act if, for instance, the dog didn’t have access to water and shade.
The commission approved the revised ordinance unanimously,
