Sled dogs peer from their enclosure during a covert visit Sandra Garofolo made to a kennel in Moonstone, between Midland and Orillia. PHOTO SUPPLIED - Ontario, Canada 
Petition targets inhumane dog tethering
Sandra Garofolo was exploring her new neighbourhood in Huntsville a couple of years ago when she came across a disturbing scene.
“Out of nowhere I heard this barking coming from an area of heavy, dense bush,” she recalls. “And there were about 75 dogs tied to their doghouses on short tethers. I couldn’t believe my eyes.”
Garofolo, who moved to the Muskoka area a few years ago, had tripped across the North Ridge Ranch, which offers dogsled tours.
The ranch has been in business for more than 15 years and gets flattering reviews on TripAdvisor. And it isn’t breaking any law, as long as the dogs are furnished with food, water and shelter.
The very fact that it’s legal to tie dogs up in this fashion is horrifying, however, to Garofolo, who learned the situation is similar – and often worse – at other dogsled operations across Ontario.
“These dogs are chained 24/7 and often underfed,” she says. “It was 110 degrees this summer, and they’re still tied out there. I couldn’t believe it.”
She says she contacted the Ontario Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals and spoke to senior inspector Jennifer Bluhm, but learned the agency can’t do much unless the animals are determined to be in severe medical distress.
View Full Article