Dog tethering bylaw considered in Amherstburg

A bylaw that would limit the length of time a dog can be left tied up outside is being explored in Amherstburg.

Currently, there are no provincial laws limiting the duration, so municipalities have been implementing their own regulations.

• First fine issued under Windsor's dog tethering bylaw

Amherstburg town council made the decision to look into the matter after a plea from Windsor/Essex County Humane Society director Melanie Coulter.

Coulter is asking for a four- to six-hour limit.

"Communities support this. People don't want to see dogs tied up for 24 hours a day, so we're proceeding, we have connections and people who are going to talk to their councillors and get the bylaw passed," she said.

Coulter says dogs who are tied up for extended periods of time are more likely to bite people.

Linda Squire, who works with an animal rescue operation in Amherstburg, says she has seen some cases of what she considers abuse.

"In one case it was a dog that was actually tethered with a twisted sheet and it was quite a short length. I had to call the Humane Society ... and officers went out and spoke with them," Squire said.

Amherstburg Mayor Aldo DiCarlo says the town will look at Kingsville's bylaw as a template. That town's bylaw prohibits a dog from being chained up outside for more than 12 hours a day. The tether must be at least three metres long.

"We do take that seriously in town, and this summer, I did have to contact some people about that, so as Melanie Coulter said, anything we have as a bylaw, something legal to refer to, will definitely help with dogs, animals that might be abused in that respect," DiCarlo said.

The Humane Society will provide enforcement of any new tethering bylaw in Amherstburg.

The Town of Essex and City of Windsor also have tethering bylaws.

Windsor's bylaw passed last summer. It prohibits dog owners from tying up their pets outside for more than four hours a day. The maximum fine for violating the bylaw is $305.