DEKALB COUNTY, GA — Dog owners in DeKalb County will soon be prohibited from leaving their pets tied up unattended after the Board of Commissioners unanimously approved a new ordinance banning the practice.
The measure changes an existing county ordinance that did not prohibit owners from leaving their dogs tethered without supervision.
Commissioner Michelle Long Spears says the new restrictions are intended to protect animals from prolonged tethering.
“I believe that a dog left tied up alone day after day, month after month, with a harness or collar buried in its skin truly suffers,” Spears said.
The ordinance establishes new requirements for dog owners who use tethers.
“This ordinance really does set a clear standard, but if your dog is tethered, you need to be with it,” Spears said.
Spears also raised concerns about the potential dangers unattended tethering can pose to the public.
“If you’re walking by and the animal has been tethered for an extended period of time, that dog could get aggressive and bite a human being. So it is a public safety and public health issue,” she said.
Along with the new restrictions, DeKalb County is launching a $50,000 pilot program to help families obtain humane outdoor enclosures for their pets.
“If you have a pet and you keep your pet inside, but you want to have an area for your pet to run outside to relieve themselves, you can apply to this fund for funding to have an enclosure placed at your property,” Spears said.
The new requirements are expected to take effect within the next six months.
DeKalb County joins Fulton and Gwinnett counties, which have also banned unattended tethering of pets.
WSB Radio’s Ashley Simmons & Jordan D. Brown contributed to this story.