Two groups - one a private organization and the other a government agency - are joining forces to review Hall County's outdoor canine restraint ordinance.
The Humane Society of Northeast Georgia (HSNEGA) and the Hall County Animal Shelter will work together on the measure for the next several weeks.
"I think both of our organizations have the well-being of our community's animals at heart," said HSNEGA Executive Director Julie Edwards. "Of course, we have different missions on how to achieve that. We [HSNEGA] had approached them [county officials] earlier this year about the possibility of working together to review and address our outdoor canine restraint ordinance which, for lack of a better word, is tethering."
Edwards said there are multiple ways to restrain a dog outside, and they plan to address those, as well as traditional tethering.
Edwards said the city of Gainesville's rule is no tethering of animals outside at all, but in the county, animals maybe be restrained outside provided they have adequate access to water, food and shelter, for any period of time.
"So a lot of communities around us and throughout the country have been assessing this and the various factors that impact the community, beyond just animal safety but property values, the safety of the community - a lot of times animals that are restrained outside tend to become more aggressive and that can lead to other issues with people being hurt or bitten by animals," Edwards said.
Edwards said they don't have a solution outlined because they want to hear from the community before deciding what to do. They'll do that through online surveys and focus groups.
"Hall County is proud to partner with the Humane Society on this initiative," Hall County Assistant Administrator Lisa Johnsa said in a press statement. "Our goal is to ensure that citizens' voices are heard on this topic in a planned, balanced and organized way."
A link to sign up for the surveys and focus groups is available here.
Edwards said the goal is to have a proposal ready to present to county commissioners by the end of summer or early fall.
