An Act relative to improving enforcement for tethering violations

This bill amends Massachusetts dog tethering laws to strengthen enforcement by clarifying when a dog is considered unattended and restricting how long dogs can be left outside. It defines "outside and unattended" as a dog exposed to the elements for more than 15 minutes without being in the owner's visual range or physical presence, regardless of whether the dog is in a fenced yard or kennel. The legislation prohibits tethering dogs for longer than five hours or between 10:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m., and bans chaining or tethering dogs in a way that allows them to leave the property. Additionally, the bill removes exemptions for using pinch or choke collars and shortens the allowable tethering time to fifteen minutes for dogs left unattended.