Catoosa County Commissioners to look into possible tethering ordinance

CATOOSA COUNTY, Ga. (WDEF) – Kimberly Hull was one of a group of people who came to the county commission meeting Tuesday night to voice concerns over the well-being of pets.

She asked the board to consider a tethering ordinance.

“There are over 20 counties in the state of Georgia who have specific laws against tethering. They range from no tethering at all, to tethering when the owner is present, let’s say if you’re washing your car, tethering is okay between certain hours,” Hull said.

She said there have been multiple incidents of dogs being chained up outside, but what sparked her to take action are two dogs that are always outside.

She said they’re chained up in a muddy lot without clean water and without adequate shelter.

“Animal control says that the dog has shelter, the dog has food and the dog has water and that’s with in our current laws in Catoosa County,” Hull said.

One resident expressed concerns over how a tethering law might impact how he trains his bird dogs.

Another resident said she feels that kind of tethering is different.

“There’s a difference between a water bowl that is sitting there with frozen water and things growing in it and food that’s moldy. There is a difference. What I would like to see happen, maybe it’s not to do with the tethering as the humane treating of an animal.”

Moving forward, Catoosa County Commission Chairman Steven Henry said the board will look at how the current ordinance on animals is worded.

He also said they’re going to see what other counties do about tethering.

“And try to make sure we do something that’s not going to hurt the responsible pet owners. There are good pet owners that tether, and there are bad pet owners that tether. We want to make sure we don’t rush into anything rash, but we are going to look into different options,” Chairman Henry said.