Voters could improve laws to protect 'outside dogs,' officials say

GIRARD

It doesn’t take a polar vortex to stir them up.

People who believe dogs don’t belong outside on chains their entire lives don’t just call animal-rescue organizations in the coldest of winter.

Chelsea Hill, a caretaker with the Trumbull County Animal Welfare League, can’t guess how many call per week or begin to estimate how many call a month.

“A lot. We talk to so many,” she said last week.

Paula Cipriani, one of four volunteers who run Legacy Dog Rescue, said her organization also gets calls, though unlike the AWL, it has no authority to go onto someone’s property to check the welfare of a dog.

As many as 15 to 20 people a day call LDR about outside dogs, she said Friday.

On social media, the issue is hot-button. In a case in Girard in August, the owner of an outside dog even reported threats on Facebook against her to the police.

It’s not that uncommon for threats or at least name-calling to erupt on social media, accompanied by pleas for someone to do something.

The outcry indicates that public opinion has changed dramatically over the years about outside dogs. The state law, however, has not changed.

Kerry Pettit, executive director of AWL, who used to live in Henderson, Nev., said that city and state have very good animal-protection laws. People wrote their legislators to let them know they wanted changes, she said.

Read more about the issue and what you can do to change the laws in Ohio in Sunday's Vindicator or on Vindy.com.