Connecticut was the first state to pass an anti-tethering law.  Click here to read the law which basically prohibits tethering of dogs for an unreasonable period of time.   The state's animal cruelty law (Click here to read) prohibits confinement or restraint of an animal in such a way as to cause injury or deprive it of food and water.

But many Connecticut citizens are frustrated about how to get local police and animal control officers to enforce the anti-tethering law.  A case in point is the young, mixed breed shepherd in Watertown that has been reported to be kept for the most part all the time on a chain outside with only an unheated dog house sitting in mud and ice in the Connecticut winter. Local animal control insists the dog is fine, that it is sometimes in the house though admittedly kept for long periods, even days, outside in the cold.

It is said the dog wants to be kept this way.

Now Julie Lewin, president of NIFAA: National Institute for Animal Advocacy http://www.nifaa.org/ will host a free workshop on Saturday, January 19, 2008 from 1-3 p.m. EST on how to get local law enforcement and animal control to use the anti-tethering law. The workshop will include advice on how to strengthen anti-tethering laws.

Space is filling up, so email Julie at jlewin@igc.org if you are interested in attending. Lewin, by the way, is the author of GET POLITICAL FOR ANIMALS AND WIN THE LAWS THEY NEED: Why and How to Launch a Voting Bloc for Animals in Your Town, City, County or State, And the Simple Steps It Takes to Do It