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Sometimes it's best to leave sleeping dogs alone
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Forsyth County News
Members of the county commission apparently can’t find any issues of real urgency that demand their immediate attention, what with everything going so smoothly these days on every front, so they’ve reached back to a hot topic issue more than a year old to bring back for debate.

Commissioners last week decided they would again consider whether to amend the county’s animal control ordinance to outlaw the chaining of dogs by their owners.

The topic was the subject of heated debate more than a year ago, and ultimately was tabled in October 2007.

Now commissioners have decided they again need to bark up that tree.

None but the most deranged members of society would ever argue that it is acceptable to intentionally abuse an animal.

For many, pets are well-loved family members, but you don’t have to be a pet owner to advocate for the humane treatment of animals.

That said, previous debate on the issue made it obvious that there are many who do not see an automatic correlation between chaining of a dog, or tethering it to a runner, and abusive treatment.

It’s fine that county commissioners want to become more proactive in assuring that animals are well treated in the county. But before they rekindle this particularly heated public fire, they should first determine if there is legitimately a problem here that needs a solution, or just a misguided cause in search of a champion.

There are simply too many pressing needs that must be addressed by county leaders for them to spend their time jousting at windmills. Even Don Quixote had to tether his horse.