Off the chain: Dougherty County Commission considers ordinance prohibiting tethering of dogs

ALBANY – Dougherty County is looking at a significant overhaul of its animal control ordinances, with some of the proposed changes including the prohibition of keeping dogs tethered or chained and the sale of animals in public areas or flea markets.

The draft of the proposed ordinance calls for allowing tethering of dogs temporarily while the owner is present or in a park or recreational area where tethering is required. However, it does mean that keeping dogs restrained by a leash or chain is not allowed as the primary method of restraining them.

The proposed ordinance was presented to the Dougherty County Commission for review and will come up for adoption later this month. The proposed ordinance, with a planned addition of a section dealing with vicious or dangerous dogs added that was not in the proposal, will not apply to farm livestock and work animals.

“We’re revamping the whole animal ordinance,” Dougherty County Animal Control Officer Tamara Piercey said. “A lot of our ordinances are antiquated. The current ordinance needed to be modernized, and there were some things that need to be improved. I think these new changes are going to work.”

Piercey addressed the commission on the issue at a Monday work session, during which the ordinance was a topic of discussion.

In addition to the prohibition of keeping dogs tethered or chained as their primary form of containment, banning the sale of dogs by unlicensed breeders is another modern component that needed to be addressed, Piercey said.

“It’s a real problem,” she said. “The people with animals at the flea market, there’s no accountability. They come on Saturday or Sunday. They bring animals from other counties. A lot of the animals are sick or infected with diseases.”

One commissioner’s issue, however, could not be addressed. Feral cats are a nuisance in his neighborhood, Commissioner Russell Gray said.

“My neighborhood is plagued by cats,” he said .”The cats area a particular problem because no one lays ownership to them. What can residents do that’s within the law?”

Trapping, neutering and returning the cats to their territory is the only remedy, Piercey said.

“The way that cats live, when you have a feral cat (and) you remove it, another cat will take over the territory,” Molly Esswein, an attorney with the Cumming-based Jarrard & Davis law firm, which assisted with the proposed ordinance, said. “It’s sort of a waste of money to impound all the cats that are out there. If you take the cat out of the area, another one is going to move in.”

Neutering and releasing a cat back into its territory at least prevents them from reproducing.

At the Albany Humane Society, Director Payton Jarrell said she approves the prohibitions on dogs living their lives tethered outdoors and streetside, and flea market sales. The Humane Society contracts with the county to house stray and vicious animals picked up in unincorporated areas.

Among many photos she showed commissioners was one dog found with a tether wrapped around his leg that forced the amputation of part of the leg, and a large bill from a veterinarian for the organization.

“We’ve seen injuries,” Jarrell said. “I’ve seen where they cut off the circulation because they got the tether wrapped around their legs. It’s a safety consideration, for sure.”

Dogs sold at flea markets also are problematic, she said.

“You’re getting an animal from a random person,” Jarrell said. “There are so many health concerns. They may not be vaccinated or dewormed, and then you are getting stuck with a huge vet bill.

“These people come and go. They’ll sell their puppies. Then when the (new owner) no longer wants them, they end up here.”