Update: Walton County BOC denies anti-tethering ordinance

An amendment to the anti-tethering ordinance failed to pass the Board of Commissioners meeting with just two commissioners voting to approve it – Commissioners Jeremy Adams and Lee Bradford were the only two who voted for it.

A large crowd of animal advocates from ETC Georgia and Off the Chain were again on hand for the May 2019 Board of Commissioners meeting. Off the Chain, an animal advocacy group that “provides non-judgmental assistance to improve the welfare of dogs who are chained/tethered in NE Georgia,” put out a call to like-minded residents in Walton County in advance of the meeting. After the amendment failed, They walked out saying “Shame, shame, shame on you,” to the commissioners. Commission Chairman Kevin Little said they had to leave quietly or risk being “locked up,” but their disappointment was very evident.

More details to follow.

Initial story

“Friends we need help getting people to these meetings in Walton. Off the Chain sees these issues throughout Barrow, Hall and Jackson but Walton Co. is loaded with chained dogs in horrible condition,” Off the Chain advocates wrote in its initial call out to residents earlier on in the year when it began urging Walton County to join in the trend of limiting or eliminating provisions that allowed for outdoor, unsupervised tethering of dogs. Hall County passed a full tethering ban in October 2018. “The commissioners need to see new faces, new concerned citizens. They need need need people to show up. Wear red. Help stop this abuse and let’s save these dogs from suffering.” And show up they did.

ETC (End the Cycle), is another organization that serves “as an advocate and voice for responsible dog ownership and owner accountability.” Its services include building free fences and distribution of free dog-houses for qualified families. It also provides education for responsible pet ownership and caring and, when available, will provide other resources like pet food, leashes, collars, pet carriers and water/food bowls. 

Monroe amended its animal ordinance to limit unsupervised tethering of pets in 2014 but later amended it to be more in line with Walton County’s ordinance for administrative purposes.