by Krista Al Qirim

Created on: December 24, 2009

Here in Utah, the debate over whether or not dogs should be left outside around the clock has been raging for years.  In fact, Salt Lake County has just enacted an ordinance banning the tethering of dogs outside for more than eight hours a day or in severe weather.  Yes, there are some who are crying foul and claiming that this is a “violation of their rights,” but I have to come down on the side of the anti-tethering crowd.

I grew up in a home that kept its dogs chained to a tree or post outside, regardless of season or temperature.  By the time I was seven years old, I knew this was not a kind thing.  Sure, our dogs had dog houses with straw and blankets, but some mornings would be so bitter (sub-zero sometimes) that the dogs would hobble out of their houses trembling.  In the summer, the heat was so brutal (sometimes over one hundred degrees) that the dogs would lay in the shade and pant miserably.  How could that possibly be a good way to treat a pet?  An animal that depends upon its owner for its very survival?  On particularly bitter nights, I would sneak out and smuggle my black lab, Mac, into the house and hide him in my room.  He was perfectly housebroken, a wonderful, mellow creature that loved being with his people.  Why he was condemned to an outside existence, I don’t know.

A talk with a local vet made this issue far more immediate for me.   He spoke of the terrible seasonal traditions veterinarians observe. Is it winter?  Dozens of cases of frostbite come through his doors, dogs sometimes losing toes, feet, or even having to be put down.  Dozens more cases of hypothermia, plus foot injuries caused by ice balls forming on the feet and legs.  Additional injuries and dehydration from iced-over water sources.  Summertime?  Heatstroke, heat exhaustion, dehydration, parasites like ticks and fleas, and, most horribly, collars and chains that have worked into the flesh and festered. 

Our local shelter tells us that the leading reason folks give for surrendering their dogs is uncontrollable barking.  The leading cause of dog-related complaints is also barking.  They attribute barking to boredom, and being chained to a tree around the clock is often the stated reason for that boredom in dogs.  Boredom can lead dogs to bark at just about anything that moves.  When I was growing up, our neighbor’s outside dog barked incessantly

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