Sarasota took a giant step forward for Dog-kind on September 15th when the County Commissioners voted to ban the chaining of dogs. Now, we are in danger of being dragged by our necks back to allowing this inhumane treatment. Before we go any further, meet “Blue”. This dog was taken by Animal Services when a neighbor reported that he was chained in a yard. Veterinarians surgically removed the chain from his neck where the skin had grown over. I bet that hurt.
The proposed change to the language in the ordinance prohibiting the chaining of dogs to accommodate folks who want to chain up their dogs for a maximum of 15 minutes. Say to run in a coffee shop to run in for a quick mocha latte. It sounds harmless right? The truth is there no amount of time that is safe or a good idea to leave your dog unattended. What could happen? A child could approach your dog, someone could steal your dog, your dog could break free, your dog could be attacked by another dog and have no escape route. Whether it’s 90 seconds or 12 minutes the same risks are there.
The 15 minute rule basically renders this ordinance as unenforceable. The ordinance was passed fair and square on September 15th, let’s let this language stand.
Oh, and by the way . . . Blue, is no longer with us. His aggressive behavior deemed him unadoptable and he was euthanized. We owe it to Blue and all of the other dogs out there to preserve the integrity of this ordinance. Sarasota – don’t go back to allowing this cruel treatment of dogs, we are better than that, and Dogs Deserve Better.