Samiha Khanna, Staff Writer
It's not that Tonnie Markham doesn't love her dogs. She lets Tennessee, her greyhound-shepherd mix, sit on the kitchen floor while she fries fish for dinner.
Every evening, she takes cool, crunchy ice outside to two other pups, Pinky and Snoopy, as a refreshing treat. She coos at them and they look up at her sweetly, wagging their tails.
And it's not that Markham prefers to keep two of her dogs chained in her backyard -- she hates the sight of it -- but she can't afford a fence right now, she said.
"I'd like my dogs to run free," said Markham, 44, who works at Raleigh-Durham International Airport. "It makes me feel bad when I have to leave 'em back there and go to work."
Markham is hesitant to let the world know her dogs are chained because so many people see it as inhumane. It also could soon be illegal, if county commissioners approve a ban on tethering dogs next month.
A county-appointed committee has been researching the issue of dog chaining for the past two years, and this week presented an anti-tethering ordinance for commissioners to consider. The board will hold a public hearing on the proposal at 7 p.m. Aug. 25, and could vote on a final draft of the ordinance as soon as September.
A similar ban on chaining has been pitched to Orange County commissioners, and they're scheduled to revisit the issue later this year. Other counties have ordinances that place time limits and other restrictions on chaining, too, said Amanda Arrington, chairwoman of the Animal Control Advisory Committee, the panel that performed the research.
Durham's proposed law would completely ban chaining or otherwise tethering a dog and leaving it unattended. Violators would face county fines, and in some cases, could even lose their animals if they didn't find another method of containing their dogs.
"It's an antiquated practice, and it's something that's cruel and inhumane to the dog," Arrington said.
Dogs on chains are more likely to be aggressive, she said. Many cause a public nuisance by barking incessantly, and they often don't get the exercise or vet care they need, she said. Without a proper setup, the animals can be injured by their chains, could knock over their water or also get tangled and be unable to reach it. They also can contribute to the huge numbers of unwanted pets born every year.
Commissioners weigh in
Not every chained dog is neglected, she conceded. And likewise, abuse can happen to animals who live inside. But of the 1,500 animal cruelty complaints Durham animal control officers receive annually, a majority of the cases show abuse or neglect related to improper tethering, said Cindy Bailey, director of Durham's animal control department.
Three of five county commissioners heard Arrington's presentation Monday. Commissioner Becky Heron, an outspoken advocate for animals, was largely in favor of a tethering ban.
"I've been at the shelter," Heron said. "When you see animals come in with collars buried in their necks because they've been neglected, it's high time to do something."
But Commissioner Lewis Cheek questioned the fairness of the ordinance, saying some could argue that the county was keeping low-income families from owning pets if a fence or other enclosure were required.
Money an issue
Durham has one nonprofit group that already is helping build fences for people who can't afford them, but its reach is limited. The Coalition to Unchain Dogs, founded by Arrington about two years ago, uses donations and volunteer labor to build fences for dogs.
More than 100 dogs have been "unchained" by the group. Before a dog owner can receive help, though, the owner has to agree to update his or her pet's vaccinations, register the animal with the county and have it spayed or neutered, if it wasn't already. So far, no one has declined a free fence, Arrington said.
Tonnie Markham, for one, would welcome the help. Estimates she obtained last year for her back yard on Lafayette Street were high -- $3,500 for an invisible electric fence, and $2,200 for a traditional one, she said.
A fence would allow Pinky and Snoopy, two of the six dogs currently living inside and outside Markham's house, to roam more freely. But though better late than never, a fence wouldn't undo what happened a few months ago when Tennessee got loose.
The dog eventually found her way home, but soon had 11 puppies. At one point, the litter wandered the unfenced yard and at least four babies were lost. Tennessee has since been spayed, and some of her pups went to the animal shelter.
One of the males wandered across the street to the home of Geneva Rucker. When her 10-year-old granddaughter Erica saw him, she scooped him right up.
The family already has a brindle pit bull mix, Snoop. He lives in the back yard, chained because the fence is broken.
The family can't afford to fix it.
Rucker said she hates to keep Snoop tethered behind the house. She's been a pet lover her whole life, she said. "I would rather see 'em home, chained down, than be with someone who doesn't take care of 'em," she said.
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