by Marty Trese, KnoxPages.com Managing Editor
MOUNT VERNON – Pet lovers who cringe whenever they see a dog chained in their neighbor’s backyard in extreme weather will likely be pleased if a bill co-sponsored by State Representative Margaret Ann Ruhl of Mount Vernon becomes law. House Bill 94, The Animal Protection Initiative, would prohibit a person from negligently allowing an animal to be tethered outdoors under specified circumstances.
Those circumstances include:
- For a total of more than six hours in a 24- hour period and for not more than two consecutive hours without at least an hour between tetherings
- Between the hours of ten p.m. and six a.m.
- If a heat or cold advisory or a severe weather warning has been issued by the national weather service for the area in which the animal is kept
If any of the following applies to the tether:
- It is less than twenty feet in length.
- It allows the animal to touch a fence or cross the property line of the owner’s, keeper’s, or harborer’s property.
- It is attached by means of a pinch-type, prong-type, or choke-type collar, or the collar to which it is attached is unsafe or is not properly fitted.
- It may cause injury to, or entanglement of, the animal.
- It is made of a material that is unsuitable for the animal’s size and weight or that causes any unnecessary discomfort to the animal.
- If the animal is not provided with a sanitary environment
- If no owner or occupant of the premises where the animal is kept or harbored is present.
Violators could be found guilty of a minor misdemeanor.
Just last month, the Knox County Dog Warden, with the assistance of the Prosecuting Attorney’s Office, obtained a court order to seize two neglected dogs from a home in Danville. According to Assistant Dog Warden Jim St. Clair, both dogs were chained outside without food or water and were severely emaciated. St. Clair checked on the animal report from Danville Police and found no one at the residence.
