The City of Richmond is being urged to ban the unattended tethering of dogs.
Animal rights campaigners lobbied city councils community safety committee this week, showing councillors graphic videos of dogs being chained up for hours on end every day.
Its OK for the dogs to be tied up when theyre with people at picnics or out in the garden, for example, said Janet Olson, of Ban Resident Dogs.
Its when theyre left unattended that it can become cruel and dangerous for the dogs and for people.
Olson, a White Rock resident, said the majority of incidents of people, especially children, being bitten by dogs happens when a dog is tied up.
Children see a dog and naturally want to pet it. But thats when theres the most danger as a chained-up dog will sometimes aggressively defend itself, explained Olson.
Weve bred dogs for thousands of years to be our companions, but then we torture them by keeping them isolated.
Olson said she was very encouraged by the response from the committee and hopes it will follow the City of Surreys lead in looking into a bylaw to outlaw unattended tethering.
Ban Resident Dogs has four members, including Olson, who got herself into hot water with the law last year while acting on behalf of her Better Life Dog Rescue organization.
Shes among six people charged with stealing dogs from backyards across Metro Vancouver. Dogs, she has claimed, were being subjected to cruel living conditions.
Olson has denied the charges and is set to appear in court next year.
She told the News that Better Life Dog Rescue has nothing to do with Ban Resident Dogs and all her energy is now being directed towards the anti-chaining legislation.
