May 18, 2007 | 6:50 PM
Category:
News
I am writing this blog having just returned from the Humane Society of the United States Animal Care Expo. This is an annual conference that brings in folks from various different aspects of the animal sheltering field, from those who run a small rescue group to animal shelter workers, animal control officers, and humane law enforcement officers. This year had 1500 attendees who went to workshops on everything from finding humane wildlife solutions to coalition building to fundraising/marketing to comprehensive field services. On the last day of the conference I presented a workshop with Adam Goldfarb of the Humane Society of the United States on chaining- called Break the Chain. Adam G. started off the workshop by giving an excellent talk on the problems with chaining as a primary means of confinement and steps to creating an anti-tethering ordinance in your jurisdiction. He gave examples of anti-tethering laws that work well as well as talking about language to avoid when drafting an anti-tethering ordinance. Studies have shown that chained dogs are 2.8 times more likely to bite than dogs not kept on a tether or chain and five times more likely to bite children. Many people think that keeping a dog on a chain will keep their neighborhood safe from aggressive dogs. However, I have yet to find a chain or tether of any sort that a dog will not eventually learn how to escape from. In a book detailing her study of fatal dog attacks between 1965 and 2001 Karen Delise states that “chaining is arguably the single most dangerous condition in which to maintain a dog. Statistically chained dogs are more dangerous than free-running packs of dogs. This does not even take into account the inherent cruelty in keeping a dog maintained on a chain in isolation or the danger of injury or death to the dog which can occur from hazardous chaining situations. Because of these facts the Washington Humane Society maintained a no chaining policy between 1991 and 2001 without any language which addressed chaining being in the law. The WHS enforced this ban on chaining under the clause in the anti-cruelty law which prohibits allowing animals to suffer unnecessarily. Armed with the information which backed our claims about the health and temperament problems caused by chaining the Washington Humane Society was able to keep many dogs off of the chain. In 2001, however, when the D.C. code was amended to add a felony provision for intentional animal cruelty, WHS made sure an anti-tethering law was included. My half of the presentation was on this enforcement side of anti-tethering. I wanted to empower agencies to look at their laws and use any applicable part of the law (proper space laws, unnecessary suffering, etc…) to address at least the most egregious instances of chaining in their communities. Many of the attendees came up to me afterwards to express their gratitude and ask for a copy of the presentation to bring back to their jurisdiction. Though they were grateful for my presentation it is the Washington Humane Society who deserves the credit. Those who were here long before me started this tradition of being the leader in Humane Law Enforcement and finding creative solutions to get animals out of bad situations. This tradition continues today and the Washington Humane Society stands ready to do whatever we can do within the law to alleviate the suffering of animals. Sometimes this takes an unusual form. For example, a couple of weeks ago a nurse from an emergency room called to say they had an elderly woman in critical condition who was very worried about her animals who had been left behind at the apartment. Humane officer Schindler went to the hospital and met with the woman’s niece who turned over a set of keys and written permission to him from the woman to enter her apartment and remove her dogs and care for them until she was able. Officer Schindler took an older Cairn terrier and a cat from the apartment and the staff at our shelter cared for them while the woman remained in the hospital. She was released a week later and Officer Schindler took the animals back home where they were very excited to be reunited with their person. Other times a more traditional approach is required. One night a couple of weeks ago Humane Officer Moyer received a call late at night regarding a puppy chained on a porch who had fallen off and was hanging. Officer Moyer was the on call Officer that night. Each night a different Humane Officer is on call after hours ensuring that there is always an Officer ready to respond 24 hours a day 7 days a week. When Officer Moyer received the call he was at home. He immediately got in his van and headed to the address aware that he had a limited amount of time in which to help the puppy. When he arrived he found several concerned neighbors. Due to two large adult dogs (a Doberman and a shepherd) in the yard, the neighbors had been unable to enter the yard and help the puppy. Officer Moyer saw the puppy, a five month old Keeshond, dangling in mid air. The dog was scratching frantically at the brick wall with his paws trying to climb back onto the porch to keep himself from strangling. The wall was covered in blood from the puppies scratching. With no hesitation Officer Moyer jumped the fence, avoiding the adult dogs, entered the yard and grabbed the puppy saving him from hanging. The neighbors were very thankful and sent a nice letter to WHS saying they “greatly appreciated his (Moyer’s) efforts and bravery” in rescuing the puppy. As for the owners, they showed up after the puppy had been loaded into the van and were told they would have to contact WHS the next day. After a strong advisement and paying the veterinary bill (since the puppy was hanging when found he was taken by Officer Moyer to the vet as a precaution) and agreeing not to tether the puppy in the future, the puppy was returned to them. But Officer Moyer plans to follow up to ensure the puppy is not tethered outside anymore. This is just one of the many examples of the extraordinary work done by the Humane Officers at the Washington Humane Society. I am sure that WHS’ HLE department will continue to be a leader in the field of Humane Law Enforcement for the foreseeable future and I look forward to more opportunities to help teach others how to tackle the problems of animal abuse in their communities.
