Legal ‘trolley’ systems for dogs are available in local stores

Chaining dogs is now banned in Texarkana, Ark., but residents have a legal option for restraining their pets, and the equipment they need is available locally.

On Monday, the city Board of Directors voted to outlaw tethering dogs in place, but the new rules allow owners to restrain them with cable run, or “trolley,” systems.

Such systems use a horizontal cable suspende d above the

ground as a kind of track, to which the dog is attached with a tether. The tether usually is also made of cable, often with a pulley on the top end and a swivel on the other end, where it connects to the dog’s collar or harness.

As a result, the dog cannot get away but has far more range of motion than if, for example, it were chained directly to a tree.

The ordinance also restricts the size and weight of allowed tethers to prevent the injury to dogs’ necks and backs that heavy chains often cause.

Several local retailers offer ready-made cable run kits and other hardware compliant with the new ordinance.

At PetSmart on the Texas side, two cable run sets are available. One accommodates dogs that weigh up to 100 pounds and costs $29.99; the other is for dogs up to 200 pounds and costs $32.99.

Both Lowe’s and Home Depot home improvement stores carry a 20-foot kit for about $13 and a 75-foot version for about $25.

The Arkansas-side Walmart carries 25-foot, swivel-end cable tethers of various thicknesses, ranging in price from $5.98 to $17.44.

Charles Lokey, director of the Texarkana Animal Care and Adoption Center, pointed out that dog owners may already have some of what they need to set up a cable run.

“I had one lady call me, a real nice lady, and she said, ‘I’ve got two old clothesline posts out in my yard, and I ain’t used them in years. Can I put a cable up between them and let the dog run like that?’ I said, ‘Yeah, but you need to put a stop there, so far from each post, so the dog won’t get tangled up around them,’” he said.

The ordinance says cable runs must be set up so tethers do not become entangled with other objects or animals, and so they cannot strangle the dog.

“They’re not that complicated. The main thing is to use common sense,” Lokey said.

Violators of the new law will get a written warning, and if they do not correct the situation within 10 days, animal control can seize the dog to protect its welfare.

Officers will only seize animals when neglect or abuse is bad enough that they need immediate help, Lokey has said.

“We’re not going to pull an animal unless it’s being grossly neglected and that hasn’t been corrected, or it’s animal cruelty. … Let me make this clear: I don’t have a problem with someone who puts a dog out on a lead or a chain for two or three hours while they’re out there working in their yard or they’re doing something, or they just put it out for a few hours to give it some air. That’s not what’s an issue.

“But when you chain a dog up and forget about it, and then we have to go out and take bolt cutters and cut the chain and get the chain out of the dog’s neck, there’s a problem,” he said earlier this month.

On Twitter: @RealKarlRichter