It’s now illegal to tether a dog in the City of Springfield for long periods of time. City Council members unanimously passed an amendment last night to Springfield city code on the recommendation of the Animal Issues Task Force.
The task force says fixed-point tethering of dogs can lead to animal aggression and can threaten the health and safety of the animals.
There are exceptions: the ordinance allows dogs to be tethered for short periods of time to allow owners to complete temporary tasks. But they must have non-choke-type collars or body harnesses, and the tether must be at least three times longer than the animals.
The changes to city code also require dogs riding in the back of trucks to be secured by non-choke collars or body harnesses so that they can’t reach past the edge of the vehicles.