Some Carroll County residents say they plan to attend a public hearing tonight to rail against a proposed amendment to county code that would ban dog owners from leaving the animals chained outside overnight.
“Not everybody has a lap dog. There are people with hunting and farm dogs, and people like me who give their dogs a choice, and she prefers the outside,” said Patricia Backus, a nurse who lives in Sykesville and owns an 8-year-old Siberian Husky named Cherokee.
Carolyn “Nicky” Ratliff, director of the Carroll County Humane Society, said the ordinance change comes after years of witnessing chained dogs neglected day after day.
“We just had a dog brought in last week with his collar imbedded in his neck,” Ratliff said. “I know in my heart that this will eliminate a lot of suffering of dogs in Carroll County.”
If the proposed amendment passes, dogs could not be tethered outside for more than 12 hours a day or at any time between 11 p.m. and 6 a.m.
Dog owners who violated those terms could facing written warnings and fines up to $500.
If residents still choose to keep their dogs outside, they must house them in a kennel with size specifications that vary with the size of the dog, a requirement that residents say could hurt financially strapped dog owners.
“People are alarmed by the proposed requirement of kennels and the added financial hardship to bear while paying present crippling taxes,” Westminster resident Jessica DeTello said.
If commissioners sign off on the amendment, Dutch Schultz, a retired truck driver from Westminster, said he will have to get rid of his daughter?s 7-year-old mutt, Jack. He said he can?t afford to buy a kennel “with property taxes taking [his] whole Social Security check.”
“If people truly love their dogs, they would find the money,” Ratliff said.
Public hearing
» What: Hearing on proposed outdoor dog code amendment
» When: 7 p.m. today
» Where: Carroll County Office Building, 225 N. Center St., Westminster, Room 003
