One public hearing is in the books and another is set for Oct. 25 as Hall County moves to restrict canine tethering on county property.
The new ordinance, crafted after a series of online surveys and focus group meetings over the summer, reads as follows:
It shall be unlawful for the owner of a canine or one who has a canine in his possession to restrain or leave unattended by means of anchoring with a chain, cable, rope, leash, runner, cord or similar tethering device.
County officials said the ordinance is similar to that adopted years ago by the City of Gainesville, but not identical.
An overwhelming majority of those at Thursday night's public hearing before the Hall County Commission were there to voice support for the revised ordinance. Jennifer Summers of Braselton, the co-founder of the non-profit group Off The Chain USA, acted as spokesperson for the 80 or so proponents in the audience. Summers said her group works to rescue dogs that are discovered tethered round-the-clock in Barrow, Jackson and Hall counties.
"I will tell you that even Jackson and Barrow combined doesn't equate to the amount of work that we've done here in Hall County since January 2017," Summers told commissioners. "We've seen first-hand the critical need for a tethering ordinance in Hall."
Summers said it wasn't just the number of cases that concerned her group, but the severity of the cases they had witnessed.
"We've seen dogs with imbedded collars, psychological issues, severe neglect cases, females impregnated while chained and even dogs die on chains," Summers said.
While Summers praised the county for moving forward with a tethering prohibition, she asked that commissioners reconsider a 180-day grace period for enacting the ordinance, saying that cold weather was on the way and a delay could be harmful or deadly to animals who need help.
Not everyone who attended the public hearing was in favor of the changed ordinance, however.
Kristine Steakley of Flowery Branch, who identified herself as the owner of "two spoiled rotten dogs," said she felt the ordinance was too broad in scope.
"I do not have a problem with a ban on permanent tethering," Steakley said. "However, as I read it, the ordinance in its current form would prohibit me from letting my senior dog out in my front yard on a cable to go potty and sit in the yard for 30 minutes."
Steakley explained that her older animal was unable to get up and down the steps to spend time in her fenced-in back yard.
A handful of attendees indicated to commissioners they were at the hearing to oppose the revised ordinance.
A second and final public hearing on the ordinance is set for 6 p.m. on Oct. 25 at the Hall County Government Buuilding on Browns Bridge Road in Gainesville. The Hall County Commission will vote on the ordinance following the public hearing.
