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Westchester Neighbors Push For New Tether Law To Protect Pets From Neglect

Tired of hearing their neighbor's dog whine and bark all night -- in the wind and cold and snow -- several Ossining residents are pressing the village mayor as well as town officials to pass a so-called "animal tether law."

A flyer being circulated in the Ossining area promoting a "tether law" that would bar neglect of pets.

A flyer being circulated in the Ossining area promoting a "tether law" that would bar neglect of pets.

Photo Credit: Contributed

A similar law, approved in Port Chester two years ago, reduced the number of complaints about dogs being ignored, neglected and abused, according to police there.

Deborah Pangle of Briarcliff Manor and founder of the Cat Squad Rescue Group LLC said she has been met with resistance from some public officials, despite the fact that she has presented proof of abused dogs in photos and videos. 

Pangle and others plan to raise the issue again at the next Ossining Village Board meeting on Wednesday, May 2. The meeting begins at 7:30 p.m. at the Ossining Police Station on Spring Street.

She says she has proof that some animals have been tethered all night long, in dangerous weather conditions and that some public officials and SPCA representatives have failed to react because they are either friends or family of the pet owners being complained about.

Pangle told Daily Voice that The Cat Squad Rescue, submitted a proposed Tether Law to Ossining Trustees on Jan. 3 with ore than 600 signatures of support, research, data and photos .

"We discovered a wonderful dog who has been chained for five years outside in the Village of Ossining," Pangle said. "The owner refuses to take dog inside. We have video and documentation of dog left out abandoned in 20-degree temperatures, no food, no water. Nobody home."

State legislators, meanwhile, are considering passage of a statewide law that would set restrictions on how long a pet can be left tied up or unattended. 

Some of the key requirements of Port Chester's law include:

--- The animal is not tethered for more than 2 hours in a continuous 12 hour period

-- The responsible party is physically present on the premises while the animal is tethered

-- The animal is tethered so as to prevent injury, strangulation, or entanglement

-- The animal is not outside during inclement weather

-- The animal is not sick or injured while being tethered

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