Lacey Officials Still Mulling Over Tethering Ordinance

by Patricia A. Miller

Lacey Township officials will soon have an anti-tethering ordinance on the books, but not before they are sure it can be enforced, Mayor Gary Quinn said.

“We are developing something that will suit the needs of our residents and the animals of our community,” Quinn said at a recent Township Committee meeting. ”We are going to adopt something. We just want to make sure it can be enforced.”

Resident and Independent Township Committee candidate Barry Bendar asked about progress on the proposed ordinance during the public portion of the meeting.

“Right now, the animal control officer is handcuffed,” he said. ”By putting something there you are giving him teeth.”

Animal activist Louise O’Brien has been lobbying municipalities around Ocean County to adopt anti-tethering ordinances. She told the Lacey Township Committee earlier this year that she couldn’t bring a a 60-pound chain that had been found wound around a dog’s neck because it was too heavy for her to lift.

The Toms River Township Council adopted an ordinance back in May that not only sets a limit of six hours on tethering of dogs, but also spells out the conditions under which they can be tethered. Violations of the ordinance can result in fines or the permanent surrender of the dog.

The Lacey Board of Health recently considered a tethering ordinance, which will be forwarded to the Township Committee for review, Township Administrator Veronica Laureigh said.

“The animal control officer will look at the ordinances to make sure it’s enforceable,” she said. “I can’t have the animal control officer sitting at someone’s house for six hours to see if it’s tethered, because it’s an expense none of us can afford.”

Laureigh said she anticipates a tethering ordinance will be introduced at the first or second Township Committee in September.

“I think everyone is in lock-step agreement,” Committeeman Peter Curatola said. ”We are all animal lovers here.”