This winter, my wife and I got a shelter dog.

[dixiegrrrrl]

34. Our town just passed a law about outdoor dogs, too.

Something that I helped our animal control person draft, and the city council had no trouble passing.
(One of the perks of living in a very small town)

for those who might not know, it is very common down south to have a "yard dog".
This is a dog which is kept in a yard, tied or fenced, or even in a doghouse, tied, to serve as a burglar alarm.
the dog is never brought indoors, never gets to play with people, and is not considered a "pet".
It lives its whole life in the one area it is confined in.
No matter the weather.
The owner may also have a "pet" dog who is indoors, cared for, pampered, etc like most of us treat our pets.

Yard dogs have a habit of barking a lot, mostly out of boredom.
Our ordinance now makes it unlawful to have a dog that barks for more than 20 minutes at a time.

What the ordinance really does is to allow the animal control to inspect the housing conditions of the dog, for shelter, food, health, etc.
Sadly, there is no law against a yard dog if the basic needs are met.
and amazingly, the owners do not seem to be disturbed by the constant barking of their 4 legged burglar alarm.