Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

We all know someone who has been bitten by a dog at some point in our lives. These incidents affect hundreds, if not thousands of Texans each year, but it is a largely untold story in our communities that dogs restrained outside by their owners are actually more dangerous than roaming packs of dogs.

How we restrain and shelter dogs outside can actually cause them to become more aggressive, and more likely to lash out at an unsuspecting person. A dog unlawfully and inhumanely kept on a chain for hours, days or even years without adequate access to shade or shelter from extreme Texas weather, is unable to retreat from perceived or real threats and can develop severe behavior problems and act out aggressively toward other animals, humans and especially children when approached.

Although state policymakers enacted legislation to establish basic standards for dogs outside, it is clear the law is broken and not working as intended to protect Texas communities.

As a former member of law enforcement, who dealt specifically with animal cases, we often saw dogs in distress, restrained by unbelievably heavy chains sometimes weighing much more than the dog itself. Yet, we could not intervene because current law mandates a warning period to allow the owner to remedy the situation without penalty.

If we came back the next day and saw the same situation, we must issue another warning. To my knowledge, no one in Texas has ever been cited for the unlawful and inhumane restraint of a dog outside because of this ridiculous warning clause, which is unlike anything else in Texas law.

If these animals are going to live amongst us, we must clarify this law to keep our loved ones, neighborhoods, and animals safe.

In recent years, our state has seen many attacks by dogs restrained in this manner, with a consistent record of severe injury or even death.

In 2018, a 4-year-old boy was playing in his backyard in Bexar County and was mauled by his family’s chained dog. Although a family member in the home quickly saw the attack happening, the boy had already died.

Just earlier this year in Victoria, a 7-year-old boy was playing in his backyard when he approached a neighbor’s chained dog. The dog attacked and bit the boy’s face, causing injuries that were not life-threatening, but required surgery.

This is happening in every corner of Texas, but we can prevent it if law enforcement is able to intervene when appropriate. This is a community safety issue.

Law enforcement’s duty is to uphold public safety. Our role is built on the concept of deescalating situations to best protect residents and their property. However, the current law designed to address the safe keeping of dogs amongst us is unnecessarily keeping us from performing that duty.

Instead of empowering law enforcement to remove animals from dangerous situations or cite owners for poor standards of care, we must wait until after an attack or tragedy has occurred to take action. Waiting until tragedy, death or destruction has occurred is wholly unacceptable.

Remedying this law is simple.

First, legislators must clearly define lawful and humane restraint and basic shelter standards outside so owners can easily comply.

Second, and most important, any change must remove the never-ending cycle of warnings to allow law enforcement to address dangerous situations when necessary to prevent human tragedy.

These two simple changes can ensure that dogs left outside do not develop severe aggressive behaviors and become community dangers.

Understandably, some Texans worry that such legislation could affect how they care for their dog. However, this legislation is not meant to stop dogs from being kept outside at all or curb the personal liberties of Texas animal owners.

It will simply ensure that dogs being kept outside are being treated in a manner that does not become a danger to the unsuspecting public around them.

We are not asking legislators to create a new law. We simply ask that they fix one they’ve already acknowledged as necessary. Texas dogs deserve a fair standard of care, and most importantly, Texas families deserve to be safe in their communities.

Alexandra Johnston is the Director of Investigations for Animal Investigations and Response, and Ambassador for the Texas Humane Legislation Network.