Animal control law could use fine tuning, says chief officer

As written, the proposed changes to the animal control ordinance could lead to more dogs pouring into the county animal shelter, according to the county’s head animal control officer. Corporal Shaun Honea told county council members at a meeting of the Council’s public safety committee that in particular the portion of the ordinance dealing with tethering could cause some animal owners to just give up the dog to officers rather than accept a citation. As it is under existing ordinance, the animal control chief said, his office has never written a citation for tethering. “I’m not against tethering if it’s done right,” he said. Honea added that the length and weight issues addressed in the ordinance should be left to the discretion of the officers because situations varied. He did suggest that the weight of dog be used as a standard in determining what dogs can be tethered rather than age of the dog, which the proposed ordinance uses. Obviously, he said, a six month old Great Dane could be humanely tethered outside, where that would be less true of a six-month old Chihuahua. The shade and water requirements for tethered animals, he agreed with, the officer said, but he did not think a tree, as allowed in the ordinance, constituted adequate shade. He also suggested the ordinance specify “dogs” in the sheltering sections, rather than “animals.” Otherwise, he said, the ordinance could apply to farm livestock. The County Council’s public safety committee will discuss the proposed changes to the animal control ordinance at a special meeting at 5 pm on October 16.