ChainFree Knoxville Free Dog Fences, Needs Your Support at City Council Workshop

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (Feb. 12, 2022) – The Knoxville Animal Welfare Alliance (KAWA) and ChainFree Knoxville have teamed up to advocate for changes to the City of Knoxville animal welfare codes in order to ban the unsupervised tethering of dogs throughout the City of Knoxville.

The impact of constant tethering (chained and restricted) has a detrimental impact on the physical and psychological health of dogs. In addition to their suffering, ignored and distanced from attention, unprotected from the weather (heat, cold and rain), unsupervised tethering can be dangerous by causing accidental choking or hanging. Tethered dogs are known to develop aggressive and nuisance behaviors for neighbors putting undue strain on the city’s resources.

“Our family has a long history of advocacy for animals (and people) and we are asking for you to join us in our mission of improving the welfare of dogs in the City of Knoxville by supporting a full ban on pets being left outside unattended and tethered,” said Julia Roy co-founder of ChainFree Knoxville. (Roy is the granddaughter of Julia Tucker, a recognized established advocate of human rights and animal protection.)

Tim’s Fencing freely assist ChainFree Knoxville volunteers to install fencing at the home of the owner of a chained dog.

KAWA and ChainFree Knoxville needs your help to encourage City of Knoxville City Council members to support the changes mentioned above and pass them into the City’s current animal control ordinances. Please click here to Contact Your Councilperson to lend your support for these efforts.

Julia Roy and Janna Cecil are cofounders of ChainFree Knoxville, a non-profit purposed to unchain tethered dogs in Knoxville by installing free fencing for pet owners with yard space.

Both are native Knoxvillians passionate about what they can do for the health of people, animals, and their community of Knoxville. Roy is a local family nurse practitioner with degrees from UT Knoxville and Lincoln Memorial University. Cecil is a Central High and UT grad who retired from the City of Knoxville’s Community Development Affordable Housing department.

The two founded ChainFree Knoxville, a non-profit to install fencing at no charge to owners of chained dogs. Their mission is two-fold – to strengthen the city’s ordinance, and to assist owners with free fencing to not chain their dogs.

Dogs deserve better. Please help to ensure the safety of dogs by:

1) Sign the petition here, Change.org/KnoxvilleAWA

2) Express support to your council members, click here Knoxville Animal Welfare Alliance

3) Follow Knoxville Animal Welfare Alliance on Facebook, and please…

4) Show your support by attending the City Council Animal Care Ordinance Workshop on Thursday, February 17th from 5-7 PM in the main assembly room of the City County Building at 400 Main St. SW.

To learn more, volunteer, or donate, or get your dog off the chain, click to connect with ChainFree Knoxville; and Knoxville Animal Welfare Alliance.