The ordinance passed banning the chaining or tethering of dogs on March 19th, 2013 by the City of Wichita Falls City Council to go into effect September 14, 2013 and carrying fines of up to $500 is unlawful and unfair. The law says that any dog left unattended while chained or tethered is abused and neglected. I say that is NOT the case, that the people who decided this was a good idea did not take the owners into consideration, and instead of passing the ordinance with a line-of-sight exception, they declared ALL chained dogs abused. I say we lift this ordinance and/or redo it with the exceptions included. The law, as it is, says your dogs may run free without supervision in a fenced yard, but they failed to acknowledge that some vicious dogs WERE tied up to protect people, and now those dogs are jumping fences and attacking people, and also going after outdoor cats.  I have seen more loose dogs running in my neighborhood than I ever have since this law passed.  So, it is cruel to tie your dog to keep it safe, but illegal to protect it?

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