ajcpets

As more and more people realize how cruel and dangerous it is to keep dogs chained up all their lives, anti-chaining ordinances have started cropping up around the country.

Studies have shown that chained dogs are much more likely to bite or attack. It's also cruel dogs are pack animals. Once taken from their litter, their family becomes their pack. Here are some counties and cities that have banned the practice:

• DeKalb County became one of the first in the area to ban most chaining in July 2005. Their law prohibits tethering but does allow a dog to be kept for up to 12 hours a day on a trolley or cable line, with certain restrictions.

• Gwinnett County passed legislation banning all chaining. "It shall be unlawful for the owner or possessor of any animal to restrain or anchor an animal by means of a tether, chain, cable, rope or cord, unless the tether or other restraint is being held by a competent person," the ordinance says. Pets now must be kept in a pen or other building with at least 150 square feet per dog.

Read the entire ordinance on the Gwinnett County website.

• Gainesville passed an ordinance in June 2007 making it illegal to chain a dog.

• Cherokee County passed new pet ordinances in Septemer 2007 that included a ban on dogs riding unrestrained in the back of pickup trucks and a ban on chaining.

— Dogs Deserve Better is a group that educates people on the cruelty and danger of chaining dogs, and also works to get dogs off chains. For more information go to www.dogsdeservebetter.org.