I spoke last month to the Asheboro City Council, and encouraged them to pass a ban on dog chaining. Last night, it was ALREADY on the Agenda for voting. The Animal Control Officer/Supervisor, Russell Lataille ~ in Asheboro, NC, spoke to the Councilmen/Women, to encourage them to pass a ban on chains! He told the Council about a dog he received a call on last week. He said he went to check on the dog, and the dog had hung himself, because it was chained to a porch 4 feet off the ground. The dog became entangled, and was dead when he arrived. The Owners are facing Fines & Criminal Charges/Jail Time. We need more Animal Control Officers like Russell Lataille. He doesn't just care about Animals, but he cares about making changes for the better! He knew that by speaking to the Council in support of a Tethering Bill, he could avoid more scenarios like the one above. Luckily in Asheboro, the Mayor, the Council, the City Police Chief AND the Animal Control Supervisor ALL wanted this to pass. If you have a Council or Police Chief that is in doubt, the Animal Control Officer can help sway them. No Tethering Bill anywhere, is going to completely end Animal Abuse, or Tethering. Many will continue to abuse, neglect, and chain their dogs. However, it is EXTREMELY comforting, when lawmakers recognize a need for legislation on this issue. Because.... if it is not LEGAL, the Animal Control Officers can actually do something about it, by fining, prosecuting Offenders, & helping animals - and while it may not end all animal abuse, it will reduce the amount of suffering GREATLY. While Asheboro City has allowed for the tethering of a dog for a short exercise break, they will graduate consequently to a new bill allowing dogs to only be tethered when the owner is present, like Guilford County, NC next year, once the Public has become accustomed to this new rule. And the Mayor said they will gradually but surely move toward a full & complete ban on chaining. They recognize the Public compliance will have to be done in stages & steps, but must be congratulated & applauded for WANTING to make this change, and for MAKING this change! A lady I know visits people with chained dogs, and offers to help the owners, and always offers to take the dog. She is making a huge difference in her area. She told me last week she visited a home where a dog had just given birth to her 3rd litter of puppies. The owner said casually "Well, I'll be taking the puppies to the shelter soon, it's the third litter I've taken over there." This is the mentality in un-educated, poverty stricken areas. My friend payed to have her dog spayed after that. The woman with the puppies did not realize that puppies taken to shelters do not all have a "happy ending." She didn't have a clue, and likely didn't give it a second thought. She ACTUALLY THOUGHT, that taking puppies to a shelter was less of a hassle, than getting the spaying surgery for her dog. This is how many poor & uneducated people feel. They just need education & assistance. So for all the CRITICS of Anti-Tethering, who say that the numbers in shelters will RISE due to Anti-Tethering, you are dead WRONG. This lady who carted her three litters of puppies to the shelter, one right after the next, is a pure and simple explanation. Since the dog was chained, THAT is how she became impregnated, again & again. Can a dog in a fence continue to get pregnant? Most likely not. PLEASE, I urge you all to visit your City Council/County Commissioners. In most places you will be required to sign in, and you will get about 3 minutes to speak. I spoke 3 times to one Board, in order to get all the points across. I wrote it all out so as not to continue to say the same thing over & over. You must place the issue of Public Safety & Finance at the top of your calm, gentle, polite, educated-sounding explanation of why, followed by the issue of Animal Cruelty. The City/County Leaders are responsible primarily for Public Finance & Safety, and Animals will likely not be the reason they took office, even if they have & love them. They need you to paint them a picture, and correlate how chaining negatively effects the sale of Real Estate, as nobody wants to buy property next door to a chained dog, and how it adversely affects the safety of the Citizens. Find a Realtor who is passionate about Anti-Tethering, and ask them to speak at a meeting. Speak to your Leaders about how a Citizen is more likely to get attacked by a dog who breaks loose from a chain, than to fall over in someone's pool & randomly drown, YET a fence is required to be around a pool, but not a dog? Those are just a couple of points to make. I am an Animal nut, and I get angry just like all Animal Nuts do. However, you will not win them over by shouting, being angry, condescending, or threatening. After speaking to three different Councils/Commissioner Boards, I have learned how to just sound like a News Reporter, stating the facts & leaving out the emotion. It is more effective. It also helps to bring out this issue, and ask that it be put on the Agenda around election time. Nobody wants to get voted out by angry citizens over an issue that is getting a lot of attention. See if your local newspaper will print a story about dog chaining. Send them pictures of chained dogs from the internet, or send them a sad song, like either of the two that I wrote "Dog On A 10 Foot Chain," https://youtu.be/GZn5qKJs2rU or "One Less Dog In The Cold" https://youtu.be/TLfkg-vxkMo ~ that are both on You Tube. That is why I wrote them, solely for this purpose of weighing on the hearts of my local leaders. I will be happy to email the bullet points & speeches I have made, that have so far, worked in these areas like magic. Let's congratulate Asheboro City, the fine men & women of the Council who care about dogs, and the Animal Control Supervisor, Russell Lataille, who also cares about dogs..... and it's not just a "job" to him! Recently there was total & complete outrage over animals in Ashe County, NC that were extremely neglected. The Ashe County Commissioners & Animal Control was UNDER FIRE and ATTACK in Social Media & later the General Media, because of their ineffectiveness & INACTION to help these animals. The Animal Control Officer in Ashe County, NC should take notes from Russell Lataille in Asheboro City. If Animal Control is not able to help a neglected or abused animal, THEY HAVE THE ABILITY & THE RIGHT to speak to their Council JUST AS Russell Lataille did last night. They can support better laws, so THEY can do THEIR JOB BETTER. All they have to do is ask City/County Leaders to make their job EASIER not harder, by improving Animal Welfare Laws. The mentality of an Animal Control Officer who believes their job will be harder if stiffer laws are passed, are delusional. In the big picture, their job will actually be not only easier, but they will not receive constant criticism about the way they handle, or do not handle certain situations. Instead of being hated & despised, they will be congratulated, and patted on the back. Will the number of calls go up if Anti-Tethering is passed? No. The number of calls is ALREADY LIKELY UP, as the Animal Nuts like us, call 26 times on the same pitiful animal. Instead of us having to call 26 times on the same pitiful animal, we can call about 3 times. The 1st call is a warning, 2nd call = fines. Fines double with the 3rd call, then next will be followed by Criminal Charges. Does your City or County not want the money from these fines? The fines in Randolph County (that is my County I am now proud to say), are small, but double with each call. While a small $50 ticket doesn't seem like a deterrent, to a person who is uneducated enough to chain an animal, $50 is likely a LOT. And in Randolph County, that fee doubles with each call, each dog, each incident, and results in Criminal Charges. Trust me, your Citizens will not want these tickets piling up. The 10 x 10 pen is not the answer either. If a dog is sitting in filth & neglected, both Asheboro City & Randolph County Animal Control will fine them for that too, and ultimately seize the dog if it is necessary. So if the Animal Control in Ashe County, NC didn't like the firestorm they found themselves in, with thousands of angry calls & criticism, they should take notes from Asheboro/Randolph County, NC. I started a group called Flying Hound Fences. We will build fences for Citizens that apply & qualify. Spaying & neutering of recipient pets is just one requirement. https://www.facebook.com/FlyingHoundFences/ Lastly, in our State of NC, Susie's Law was passed in December of 2010, making Animal torture, cruelty & neglect punishable by a Class H Felony. This is all thanks to my dear friend Donna Lawrence, and her sweet dog Susie. Check out the movie "Susie's Hope." Ashe County has a responsibility to prosecute animal cruelty & abuse according to this State Law in NC, even if they don't want to do anything through local government. They have really dropped the ball in Ashe County. www.SusiesHope.com Thank all of you for signing & SHARING this petition! Peace & love & doggie kisses, XOXOXO Donna Hughes Donna@DonnaHughes.com www.DonnaHughes.com https://www.facebook.com/DogsWithoutChains/