Ohio law leaves dogs out in the cold

By Anna Prior | October 5, 2014 at 12:08a.m.

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 people 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.

“We can’t go get them,” she said, though it’s hard sometimes to get people to understand. A network of 14 foster homes, LDR takes in and adopts out strays, dogs from the county pounds and owner-surrenders.

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.

As long as a dog has food, water and a basic shelter, it can remain outside, said Kerry Pettit, executive director of AWL.

That won’t change, she agreed, unless people persuade their legislators to change the law.

Pettit, 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.

Changes in Ohio’s law could address how many hours a day a dog can be tethered outside, how heavy a chain can be and whether a dog has to be taken inside if the temperature drops below a certain level, she said.

“It would be great to see that law update,” she said.

Dogs on chains is an issue that Legacy Dog Rescue takes to heart. Every June, the organization recruits four or five volunteers to put on collars and chains and tether themselves to a stake in front of Family Video on Kirk Road in Austintown — for 12 hours.

They call it Break the Chains.

LDR will never adopt a dog out to someone who intends to keep it outside, Cipriano said.

“Some people do treat them well,” she said. “But we would rather see them inside.” Outside dogs, she said, do not get enough attention or socialization.

“A lot of times, we see kids taunting them and throwing things at them,” she said.

“We see the dogs that sit outside and are forgotten. It’s hard to watch.”

Nate Shipman, legislative aide to state Rep. Sean O’Brien of Bazetta, D-63rd, said the issue of outside dogs is on O’Brien’s radar.

Letter-writing and emailing legislators are good options, Shipman said.

“It’s always better if it’s a joint effort, rather than a bunch of individual constituents,” he said. “A group can get a meeting with a representative.”