Several St. Joseph residents spoke at the city council meeting this week to urge council members to consider regulations on tethering pets.

During the public comment portion of the meeting, residents brought up their concerns about pets being left outside for long periods of time in extreme temperatures without proper shelter, the need for regulation of tethering and enforcement of regulation and the need for animal safety education.

With public input and ideas, City Manager Bruce Woody said there are multiple things under consideration for restrictions regarding tethering or chaining of animals.

“Not allowing an animal to be tethered unless there is an adult at home… not letting the animal be tethered between the hours of 10 p.m. and 6 a.m., mainly overnight, not tethering a dog that’s less than six months of age,” Woody said. “The tether itself must be designed for animals… shouldn’t weigh more than about one-eighth of the dogs body weight… animals should be placed where the animal cannot be in danger of being strangled or hung, you don’t want to have a pet that’s on a chain where they can jump over a fence and then get hung by the fence because they can’t reach the ground. Tethered animals… shouldn’t be out in extreme weather conditions.”

There are several more proposals up for debate as the city council considers regulations. Woody said they are considering writing up a draft of an ordinance and putting it online for public comment sometime in the near future.

This week’s city council meeting can be viewed online.