Resident wants ban on chaining dogs

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Updated: March 8, 2012 8:17AM

JOLIET — A Joliet woman wants it to be illegal for dog owners to chain their pets outside. And, the city is willing to consider the idea.

“Virtually every dog who spends a significant time tethered will suffer some temperament problems,” Susan Fleming, who is a pet consultant, told the Joliet City Council on Monday.

Fleming had plenty more to say, including a report of a dog strapped outside so long that a collar was embedded in the canine’s neck.

Eventually, Mayor Thomas Giarrante told Fleming that the council got the idea. He referred a chain/tether law to the council’s public safety committee for consideration but said he was not likely to support a total ban.

“There are people out there who don’t mistreat their dogs,” Giarrante told Fleming. “And, if we pass an ordinance against chaining them up, would they have to put up a fence? And, could they afford to put up a fence? I think there’s a fine line there.”

City Attorney Jeff Plyman noted that the city does have “a general ordinance against cruelty to animals, and I guess tethering can rise to that level.”

Councilwoman Jan Quillman suggested a specific ordinance could have more impact than the general law.