Chain Gang
www.newsvirginian.com
November 14, 2006, STAUNTON, VIRGINIA - Amy Hammer found herself haunted by the thought of a dog - a pit bull belonging to one of her neighbors - that spent its days perpetually chained up in the yard, flies plaguing two stumps where its ears had once been.
“I lay in bed at night and see this dog’s face,” said Hammer, a Staunton resident and avowed dog lover with three pets of her own.
Initially, she added, she tried helping the pit bull on the sly, checking on it and rubbing medication on its head. But when the owners posted a No Trespassing sign in the yard, she was left wondering if there was nothing more she could do.
That was spring of this year. Today, Hammer is one of the leading forces behind a new, as yet unnamed, citizens’ group calling for Staunton
City Council to impose a legal limit on how long a pooch can be chained - something the city currently has no rule on.
Members say long-term chaining does both psychical and psychological damage to a dog, turning them into potential safety hazards.
“They’re pack animals,” Hammer told the City Council last week. “Anyone who owns a dog knows they want to be with you all the time.
So this isolation leads to agitation and then aggression,” making tethered dogs eight times more likely to attack someone, according to statistics.
Fellow organizer Ria McGuffin said one of the first things that will strike you is how sad the dog seems.
“It’s like having a child beaten in front of you and having to sit like this [pinning her hands to her sides] and not make a move,” she said. “… And you can see it every time you go to work or go to the store, depending on what streets you drive on.”
Already, the group says it has received calls from people in tears over the plight of a neighborhood dog.
In addition to advocating for the new law, the organization hopes to combat the problem by educating dog owners and offering free fencing and doghouses whenever it can. It’s currently seeking donations to help fund that pursuit, along with potential foster homes for dogs.
The group has officially proposed to the City Council a 10-hour limit on chaining, although without a resounding endorsement from city staffers. Officials told the council they supported the intent of the proposal, but added it would be difficult to enforce and would place a strain on the already limited resources of the city, which has only one animal control officer.
The Staunton Police Department suggested a committee be formed to explore the issue further, an idea supported by Mayor Lacy King.
“I think we’re going to have to take some time on this because it does have implications for the city and implications for the residents, too. I don’t think we should rush right into that,” King said Monday. “It is a problem. I don’t like to see those animals chained up, either. But it’s not going to be a quick fix.”
Chaining limits are gaining popularity across the country, with Charlottesville currently considering an ordinance of its own and California passing a statewide restriction earlier this year.
Waynesboro is not among those communities with a law on the subject, although Hammer expressed the hope of expanding the campaign if the Staunton efforts are successful.
“Other communities are doing it,” she said of the law. “It’s not impossible. This is not too big for us to do.”
To volunteer or donate to the Staunton anti-chaining group, call Amy Hammer at 490-0487 or Ria McGuffin at 490-0140.
