Fountain Inn's Animal Cruelty Ordinance does not address what "adequate shelter" means, nor does it restrict chaining and tethering.  In 2018 both Greenville County and Spartanburg County addressed these issues and made changes to their ordinances.  Let's work together improve the lives of our animals by bringing a change to our City Ordinance.  

Chained dogs often get tangled, keeping them from shelter, food, and water​.

Many chained dogs have no protection from heat, rain, & cold.

Chained dogs can get hung over fences and off decks, causing death.

Chains can become embedded, causing severe pain and injury

Sign the petition to improve shelter and restrict chaining and tethering in Fountain Inn, SC

Be the voice for those who cannot speak for themselves. Proposed Sec. 5-6.

– Animal Care General 
(a) No owner or keeper shall fail to provide such person's animals with sufficient wholesome food; clean, fresh water; proper shelter and protection from the weather; veterinary care when needed to prevent suffering; and humane treatment. It shall be unlawful for any person to inflict unnecessary cruelty upon any animal, to ride, drive or work it when sick or unfit to work, or to override, overload, drive or when overloaded, over work, torture , cruelly or unmercifully beat or whip any animal, or to provide veterinary care and grooming, or to fil to maintain such animal free of disease.    An owner or keeper of animals shall, at all times, maintain a clean shelter and living area, free of accumulated waste and debris so that the animal shall be free to walk or lie down without coming in contact with any waste or debris. 
(b) Proper shelter includes a structure appropriately sized for the animal to stand and lie in a normal manner. The structure must adequately protect the animal from harsh weather; at a minimum, it shall have a roof, four sides and an opening for ingress and egress. 
(c) It shall be unlawful to tether an animal while outdoors, except when all of the following conditions are met: 

Tethering 
(1) The animal must be over the age of six months. 
(2) The animal is in visual range of the responsible party and the responsible party is located outside with the animal. 
(3) The animal is not tethered more than two hours in any continuous 12-hour period. 
(4) The tether is connected to the animal with a buckle type collar or a body harness made of nylon or leather not less than one inch in width and is one inch greater in diameter than the animal's neck or torso. 
(5) The tether has the following properties: 
a. A minimum 12-foot length; 
b. A swivel type termination at both ends; 
c. Is not made of chain; 
d. Total weight does not exceed ten percent of the animal's body weight; and 
e. Is fabricated of a material that prevents tangles. 
(6) The animal is not outside during extreme weather, including, but not limited to, extreme heat, temperatures below 36 degrees Fahrenheit, snow, hail, tornadoes, thunderstorms, tropical storms or hurricanes. 
(7) The animal is tethered so as to prevent injury, strangulation or entanglement. 
(8) The animal has access to water, food and shelter. 
(9) The animal is not tethered where any object may interfere or impede free movement of the tether. 
(10) The animal is not sick or injured. 
(11) The animal is not tethered in such proximity to any other tethered animal that would allow entanglement. 
(12) The animal is not tethered on any property with an unoccupied dwelling to include, but not be limited to, abandoned or condemned buildings. 
(13) Any pulley, running line or trolley system to which a tether is attached shall be no less than 15 feet in length and no more than seven feet above ground.