Unchained: IDA Battles Dog Fighters over Anti-Tethering Law
Efforts to limit chaining in North Carolina gain momentum

In our February eNews, we reported that IDA Program Director Suzanne Roy rescued a neglected dog whose whole life consisted of her doghouse and the area she could reach on a six-foot chain. "Henry" (who was actually a female) had never been spayed or given any veterinary care and was severely malnourished, but thanks to Suzanne, who visited her daily and finally convinced Henry's "owner" to turn her over, the long-suffering dog was adopted by Dietrich von Haugwitz, her loving new guardian. Renamed Bessie, she now shares a Chapel Hill home and 12-acre yard with his other dog.

The case has set in motion a chain of events that may lead to a new law in Orange County, N.C. banning the cruel practice of tethering dogs as a primary method of containment. Keeping dogs on chains for extended times is extremely cruel to this naturally social species that craves and needs socialization and companionship. As was the case with Bessie, chained dogs typically lack adequate veterinary care, food, water or shelter, and are often deprived of exercise and interaction with their families.

Roy serves on the Orange County Animal Tethering Committee, which will be making a recommendation to local leaders in support of the anti-chaining ordinance. While the humane law has widespread support in the community, there is one small group of people who strongly oppose it: those who breed dogs for fighting.

Though dog fighting is illegal in the U.S. and considered a felony in 47 states, this deadly activity continues in many areas of the country. Fighting dog breeders are against anti-tethering laws because it would make their job harder. Dogs bred and trained for fighting (mostly pit bulls) would kill one another if they were housed together, and since kenneling dogs individually is costly, most breeders simply separate fighting dogs by tethering them with heavy chains to the ground or a stationary object.

One of Roy's fellow committee members, Alane Koki, resigned after a local newspaper exposed her as being a well-known breeder of pit bulls used in fighting. After Koki's departure, the committee heard several hours of public testimony on the proposed anti-tethering law. A final decision is still pending. Clearly, banning or regulating chaining practices would take a huge bite out of the blood sport of dog fighting.