Springfield, Missouri

November 17, 2015

This ordinance prohibits tethering for more than 30 minutes at a time.

Sec. 18-63 Tethering dogs.
(a) Any dog permitted to be kept within the city shall not be chained, tied, fastened or otherwise tethered to any stationary or inanimate object as a means of confinement and restraint to property.
(b) Exceptions.
(1) Tethering shall be allowed on rare occasions when it is necessary for the dog owner or custodian to complete a temporary task that requires the dog to be physically restrained but shall not be for more than a reasonable time.
(2) Tethering shall be allowed for short periods of time, not to exceed 30 minutes, for the purpose of the dog to relieve itself.
(3) When a dog is tethered as allowed in the above exceptions, the dog must be tethered by a non choke type collar or a body harness to a tether that is at least three times the body length of the dog, measured from the dog’s nose to the back of the hindquarters and which tether is free from any objects that could cause entanglement or strangulation. The tether shall be proportional to the size and weigh no more than one-eighth of the dog’s body weight.
(4) When a dog is tethered as allowed in the above exceptions, any person having custody of such animal shall provide adequate shelter and adequate water for the dog, as defined in section 18-1. This section shall not apply to dogs used by law enforcement agencies in the performance of their duties, service dogs, or any facility in the city licensed by the United States Department of Agriculture, Missouri Department of Agriculture, or the Missouri Board of Veterinary Medicine.
(c) When riding outside the passenger compartment of a vehicle in transit or when tethered to a legally parked or otherwise situated vehicle, a dog must be secured by a non choke type collar or body harness, such that the dog cannot reach past the edge of any of the sides of the vehicle.
(d) Any person found guilty of a violation prescribed in this section shall, upon conviction thereof, be punished as provided by section 1-7, and each and every instance of violation shall be a separate offense.