November 3, 2006
Kathy
Burkley is all too familiar with animal cruelty.
But
the executive director of the Humane Society of Westmoreland County
said a recent case involving a dog that was found outside a Hempfield
Township house with a collar embedded in its neck ranks among the
worst she has encountered.
"The
neck had grown around the chain," Burkley said. "When
we cut the chain out, each link had to be cut out individually."
A
humane agent confiscated the dog immediately upon investigating
neighbors' complaints regarding the animal, which was tethered outside
a residence in Grapeville. It was taken to the humane society's
shelter near Greensburg's Lynch Field, where it underwent surgery
to have the links removed.
The
dog, which has since been named 'Ernie,' nearly died during the
procedure. But the animal pulled through, Burkley said, and will
be made available for adoption once he has fully recovered.
Three
Grapeville residents face animal cruelty charges. Burkley declined
to name the individuals.
Ernie's
plight might have been averted entirely had a proposed state law
that places time limits on tethering been in effect.
House
Bill 1911 would make it a summary offense to leave a dog tied or
penned outdoors for more than 16 consecutive hours. The bill has
been stuck in the judiciary committee since shortly after it was
introduced in 2005.
State
Rep. Mario Scavello, a Montgomery County Republican who introduced
the bill, did not return a phone call seeking comment.
Burkley
said the proposed law might have prevented Ernie's injuries because
his owners would have been required to take him indoors at least
once daily. Had they done so, they could not have ignored the fact
the dog's chain was becoming embedded in the animal's neck.
"This
happened over a very long period of time," Burkley said. "It
happens from total neglect. No one looked at this dog to see that
this happened."
In
addition to preventing physical abuse, the proposed law would curb
antisocial behavior often found in dogs that are kept outdoors and
provided little interaction with humans.
Marsha
Robbins, a dog trainer with Western Pennsylvania Humane Society,
said dogs are pack animals that thrive on interaction with others.
Tethering deprives dogs of such interaction, giving them little
opportunity to learn and interpret human body language.
As
a result, said Burkley, tethered dogs that get loose are more likely
to bite than are their peers.
Dogs
that are isolated from humans also develop bad habits, including
digging, eating their own feces or barking constantly, Robbins said.
"They
bark at everything because they are looking for interaction,"
Robbins said. "They just bark and bark and bark."
Robbins
said tethered dogs are protective of their territory, food and house
because they have nothing else.
"When
you tether a dog and deprive them of all social activities, it's
like putting a person in solitary confinement," Robbins said.
"The deprivation ... usually manifests itself in learning behaviors
people don't like."
The
only problem with the proposed legislation, said Gretchen Fieser,
spokeswoman with the Western Pennsylvania Humane Society, is enforcement.
"Everybody
thinks it's a good idea. The only problem is enforcing it,"
Fieser said. "Unless you have the manpower behind it, how do
you prove it?"
Liz
Zemba can be reached at lzemba@tribweb.com or (724) 836-6646.
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