Has anyone seen the actual Animal Cruelty bill that was just passed by the House?

I'm in no way, shape, or form for animal cruelty.

BUT...I'm a little worried as to what they're going to put into the bill that will be a judgemental factor.  The very short article I saw was mostly talking about heinous crimes against animals, but we know in the horse world, there's a few loonies out there that think even riding them is a crime. 

Obviously mutilation, starvation, severe beating, duct taping their mouths closed, etc is a crime.  A chained up dog with food, water, and a dog house isn't a crime to me. I had hunting dogs and they were happier on the chain than they were in a pen, and they weren't coming in my house! 

It does sound scary. Drowning and smashing are included as well. Think about that. 

It's good someone is at least addressing the issue.  The things I've read lately about cruelty to animals will give you nightmares.

I personally would rather not have a dog than have one on a chain.  Our neighbor put a beautiful yellow lab puppy on a chain outside his house.  The coyotes killed it.  He came to our house blaming our dogs.  They never leave the place let alone kill a puppy.  They can't protect themselves from predators when they're chained.  Sled dogs are a prime example.

I'd like to read it. So speaking of loonies, on the very extreme side at that.. my trainer has a woman that lives down the road from his place. He said shes bat poop crazy. I was riding in his pen and I saw a car driving by really slow... a few times. I asked him. He said she drives by all the time and will stop if hes getting after 1 in the round pen and snap pictures with her phone. He also said she will stop and come knock on the door if he has a few horses turned out in the front pasture. She tells him he had better have water available to them or she will call the law. He has a full trough on the back side of that pen! He tells her to go ahead and call them. She always tells him riding them is cruel and running them in circles in the round pen is abusive.  She drives by daily and peers at him lol! I told him I'd turn her in for harrassment! But its truly scary to think there are people out there that believe riding, training horses is abuse. Hes far from abusive but if hes got one coming at him teeth barred in the round pen you better believe hes going to whack them with his hockey stick lol! 

Agreed. There have been studies about how many more behavioral issues you get from a dog on a chain versus behind a fence. There are quite a few towns that are starting to outlaw dogs on chains or at least limit the amount of time they can be on one. Plus, having a dog behind a fence means other peoples' dogs or kids can't get to it as easily.

I dont understand why anyone would want to get a dog and then chain it up in the yard. My dogs stay in our big backyard and inside the house , I do let them out with me when I can keep a close eye on them. We have neighbors that leave their dogs out all the time, loose, free to roam wherever and they get themselves into lots of trouble, killing chickens,  chasing horses, cows etc. They usually end up disappearing and then theyll just get more and do the same thing. 

I'm in the process of trying to get a home for an abused pit bull.  People moved off, left her to starve, with a collar and about 3 inches of a big chain attached.   She's so very shy, but I've been feeding her for about a month or so, and Sean and I can touch her.  She  comes running up to my vehicle wagging her tail when I pull up, sometimes even talking to me.   

However, when the previous owners come by to feed their cows, she runs and hides or even will cower with the hair along her back standing.  They ask if I'm gonna find her a home.  I tell them I'm working on it, but that pits are hard to place.  I want to say "especially when they've been beat and starved and abused," but I don't. . . I just simply don't understand people.  (Early spring this year, I kept seeing her chained under a tree in the weather, constant rain, no dog house.   So we took her a barrel and a bale of hay and fixed it up for her.   Owners kept it out there probably a month before it disappeared.   So she was back to no shelter, sleeping in her own poo.)   Kids and animals should require passing a test before you can have them.  Sorry for the rant, I just hate seeing animals get a raw deal. 

I have the next door neighbors from hell. They shot at my horses and at me. I have seen them shoot at the horses twice. DROVE to the sheriff’s department and a deputy did come out and talk to them.  Nothing has changed. Decided to do a criminal background check and the father who lives next door and his son who lives one house down are both felons. So why are two felons who are not supposed to have a gun shooting at me and my horses?  If I can ever figure out how to get in touch with the game warden I am going to take a different approach. The son got on his four wheeler, rode down the road and shot into my pasture. There is a doe with this years and last years babies that hang out there. This was in July. Hunting off the road out of season isn’t legal. So going to try that. This people really are Bat schit crazy. When I was still teaching the school had instructions that if I did not show up without calling in to call the sheriff’s Dept immediately. It is really that bad. The Trump flag out on my front fence didn’t help any. This has been going on for about 6 years. Any law that is passed is good as far as I am concerned.  I do carry my pistol when I go out and feed. (9mm so I can shoot 15 rounds)

Oh my she looks so sad. Bless you for taking care of her! Poor thing. If possible,  you should keep her since shes building a trust with you.  That dog will love you for saving her and protect you with her life for payback. Ugh that breaks my heart she was treated so poorly 

we have a fairly new law "Goddard law"here in ohio,I I'm GLAD WE HAVE IT.The first person to be charged heavily got some real jail time.These animals need a voice,and now they have one.

I call her Scara because of the mascara smudge around her eye.   I have a family interested in her and want to come get her this weekend.  I've been very honest with the man about what I know about her.  He has two other rescue dogs, and he said he has all the time in the world to let her trust him.  They have a fenced in yard which I feel is a necessity with her---cats and chickens are NOT friends to her.  Seems to be fine with other dogs, male and female, large and small.   I'd have taken her in a second,  but I have a very dominant female cur--I know that simply wouldn't work. . . 

Please say a prayer that it works out with them.   I know once she's theirs I have no say, but I did ask him that if it didn't work out to please put her humanely to sleep--that's the least she deserves rather than to be passed around again.  This is a dog that I feel, like you said, will be loyal and protective to a fault with her family.   Breaks my heart, as well as I've gotten attached and will miss her. . . 

I had a dog that had major anxiety about being locked up. Crates, kennels, even the house if she was alone. Almost like she had claustrophobia. She literally shredded the chain link to get out of a couple different kennels, and ate a hole through our drywall when left home alone once. But I could tie her up outside when necessary and she'd be quiet as can be. In her case, being tied up was much less stressful than being kenneled.

She was very well behaved and obedient. Not a wanderer. Just wanted to be with me most of the time. She spent a large portion of her life on ranches with no dog-proof fencing and slept in the house with us at night, unless she wanted to be outside. So there wasn't much need to confine her - sometimes when we had company, or if someone else was working cattle nearby with their own dogs (to keep her from helping uninvited lol).

Right now I have another dog that gets tied up when he's home alone because we're still saving up for better perimeter fencing on the property we bought a year and a half ago, and he can clear the current fence like a deer. When we're home, he's at our sides - and I'm home most of the time, so he's not tied up much (maybe 2-3 hours over the course of a week). But he does get tied up.

So yes, I have a lot of sympathy for dogs that spend their lives tied to a chain. People who do that to animals have no business owning them. But I also understand that not every dog you see tied to a chain is living that life.

https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/house-bill/724/text

here yyou go  this is it