Adequate Shelter Ordinances
- Akron, OH – Ordinance 92.051
- Ashland, OH – Ordinance 505.07
- Avon Lake, OH – Code 618.05
- Bowling Green, OH – Section 90.02
- Caldwell, OH – Code 618.07
- Canal Winchester, OH – Section 505.08
- Canton, OH – Code 505.14
- Chickasaw, OH
- Cincinnati, OH – Ordinance 325-2016
- Columbus, OH – Chapter 2327
- Dayton, OH – Section 91.01
- Delaware, OH – Chapter 505.01
- Fairview Park, OH – Code 505.04
- Granville, OH – Code 505.07
- Millersburg, OH – Code 505.07
- New Concord, OH – Code 505.07
- Oakwood, OH – Ordinance 505.07
- Piqua, OH – Code 90.02
- Richfield, OH – Code 505.071
- Richfield Heights, OH – Code 505.071
- Saint Bernard, OH – Ordinance 505.23
- Shawnee Hills, OH – Ordinance 505.08
- Shreve, OH – ORC
- Sunbury, OH – Ordinance 505.071
- Toledo, OH – Code 505.09
- Upper Arlington, OH – Section 519.01
- Utica, OH – Ordinance 505.01
- Westerville, OH – Code 531.081
- Woodmere, OH – Ordinance 505.07
- Woodville, OH – Code 505.01
- Wooster, OH – ORC
- Yellow Springs, OH – Ordinance 618.05
- Youngstown, OH – Code 505.14
Anti-Tethering Ordinances
- Akron, OH – Section 92.05 – 052
- Alliance, OH
- Anderson Township, OH – Resolution 18-1220-20*
- Ashtabula, OH – Ordinance 2012-183
- Bexley, OH – Ordinance 6-19
- Boardman, OH
- Brook Park, OH
- Buckeye Lake, OH – Ordinance 2017-21
- Cincinnati, OH
- Cleveland, OH – Section 603.092
- Columbia Township, OH – No. 17-25, 2017
- Columbus, OH – Chapter 2327.20
- Dayton, OH – Section 91.62
- Delaware, OH – Section 505.25
- Dennison, OH – Ordinance 2541*
- Eastlake, OH – Section 505.072
- Elyria, OH – Section 505.075
- Girard, OH
- Green Hills Village, OH – Section 505.09
- Lancaster, OH
- Lorain, OH
- Lyndhurst, OH – Section 618.021*
- Mentor, OH – Section 505.27-29
- Miami Township, OH – Resolution 2017-18
- Napolean, OH – Section 505.16
- New Richmond, OH – Ordinance 2007-53
- North Royalton, OH – Section 618.05
- Norwood, OH
- Springfield Township, OH – Resolution 22-2018
- Struthers, OH
- Youngstown, OH – Section 505.011
*Three Ohio ordinances were prepared under emergency measures stating it was “necessary for the preservation of the public peace, health, safety and welfare.”
Additional Ohio cities with anti-tethering/adequate shelter ordinances: Brunswick, Canton, Delaware, Euclid, Howland Township, Lyndhurst, Maple Heights, Marietta, Niles, North Canton, Poland Township, Poland Village, South Euclid, Tallmadge, Toledo, Warren, West Carrolton, Whitehall, Willoughby.
Resource Materials
- OAA’s Tethered Dogs: A Guide to Local Municipalities and Adequate Shelter for Companion Animal Factsheet, summarizes what adequate shelter is, why it is needed for outdoor animals, and a model for local ordinances.
- OAA’s Tethered Dogs: A Guide to Local Municipalities, assists communities across Ohio with their efforts to educate municipalities on the need to pass anti-tethering and extreme weather ordinances (link to guide). The guide addresses both the public safety aspects and inhumane conditions tethered dogs face tethered outside.
- OAA Resource Directory: searchable tool to find places where to get free pet food (many animal shelters can also provide limited food); low-cost pet sterilization services, and report animal abuse (when in doubt, call your local law enforcement or humane officer).
- The Public Safety and Humane Implications of Persistently Tethering Domestic Dogs, New Mexico Department of Public Safety, 2008
- 1997 – USDA ruled that people and organizations regulated by the Animal Welfare Act (AWA) cannot keep dogs continuously chained, “The dog-tethering rule is designed to prevent the practice of permanently tethering dogs and not allowing them proper exercise as specified under the AWA.” This final rule removed from the AWA regulations the provisions for the permanent tethering of dogs as a means of providing primary enclosure.
- July 2, 1996 – USDA issued statement “Our experience in enforcing the AWA has led us to conclude that continuous confinement of dogs by a tether is inhumane. A tether significantly restricts the dog’s movement. A tether can also become tangled around or hooked on the dog’s shelter structure or other objects, further restricting the dog’s movement and potentially causing injury.” Federal Registry, Vol. 1, No 68
- 1991 – A study by the Centers for Disease Control, “Which Dogs Bite?” found that chained dogs are 2.8 times more likely to bite. The dogs most likely to bite are male, unneutered, and chained.
Literature & Toolkits
- Passing a Tethering Ordinance in Your Community – Legislate to Change Their Fate, Texas Humane Legislation Network
- November 6, 2017, Changing Delaware, Ohio’s Tethering Law: All it takes is One Voice for All Animals, For All Animals
- Gus, a Little Dog Forgotten, UnchainYourDog.org, February 18, 2013
- Donovan: The True Story of a Backyard Dog, UnchainYourDog.org, February 18, 2013