This new year just might bring warmth and companionship to some cold and lonely pups. Starting yesterday, dog owners who leave their four-legged friends chained up for more than three hours could face a fine of up to $1,000 and six months in jail.
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New law in effect
State Sen. Alan Lowenthal, a Long Beach Democrat, wrote the bill, which became law yesterday.
The law:
Prohibits tethering a dog to any stationary object for more than three hours in a 24-hour period.
Allows dogs to be attached to running lines, pulleys and trolley systems, except with a choke or pinch collar.
Allows dogs to be tethered to fixed objects while at campgrounds and recreational areas that require dogs to be restrained.
Makes exceptions for dogs that are hunting, working on farms or herding cattle or sheep.
Possible penalties:
A warning for first-time offenders who did not endanger the health or safety of a dog.
An infraction resulting in a maximum fine of $250 per dog.
A misdemeanor with a maximum fine of $1,000 per dog and/or up to six months in jail.
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California is the first state to put a specific limit on how long people can tie up their dogs. It follows Connecticut, which prohibits tethering for an “unreasonable period of time.”
San Diego dog owners have mixed feelings about the new law.
Some say it's crucial to protecting the well-being of dogs, which become isolated, can strangle themselves and are more likely to bite people when they're chained and can't run away. Others say imposing a blanket restriction on every dog owner is unnecessary and impractical, and could criminalize people who take good care of their pets.
“I think it's pretty absurd,” said Fernando Alva, who lives in San Diego's South Park neighborhood and takes his 7-year-old black Labrador mix, Holmes, to work with him at a shipyard every day. Alva said he has no choice but to tie up his dog while they're at work and doesn't plan to change his routine.
“I enjoy his companionship, and he is spoiled rotten,” Alva said.
At the county's animal shelter in Carlsbad, Regional Director John Carlson said the new law is a relief. He said the time limit will enable animal-control officers to save some dogsfrom harm.
Before the law was in effect, owners were required only to ensure that tethered dogs weren't in physical danger and had water, food and shelter. So officers could do little to help a dog that wasn't in peril but could barely move because it lived day and night on a 2-foot chain.
“Those of us who deal with dogs on a regular basis realize that is a very, very bad situation,” Carlson said. “You don't want to wait until the animal is in a life-threatening situation.”
The new law prohibits owners from leaving a dog tied to a fixed object, such as a tree, fence or doghouse, for more than three hours in one day. It makes exceptions for dogs staying in parks and campgrounds, herding cattle and sheep, or attached to running lines, pulleys and trolley systems.
Carlson said county animal services will provide pamphlets that explain the law, and this month first-time violators who haven't endangered a dog will get a warning.
Sharon Coleman, president of The Animal Council, a nonprofit group in San Mateo that fights certain legislation related to animals and opposed this bill, said she's concerned that some dog owners won't have the resources to fence their yard or buy a trolley system. And what if a fence comes down in a windstorm or a fire? she asked.
Pam Runquist, spokeswoman for the California Animal Association, a coalition of animal-welfare groups that sponsored the bill, said the time limit reflects a modern view of dogs as social creatures that deserve to be protected from boredom and loneliness.
Carlson said animal control usually gets a couple of calls a week about dogs chained up outside, and even more when it's raining. With the new law, he expects the number of calls to increase.
“A dog is a pack animal and needs to be with its pack,” Carlson said. “The pack is its family.”
Brooke Williams: (619) 293-1228; brooke.williams@uniontrib.com
