Save Therapy Animals for Military Soldiers Diagnosed with PTSD

Did you know that returning Soldiers with PTSD have some of the highest suicide rates in the country? There disorder needs a voice. Please sign our petition to help us save our therapy animals. Montgomery County legal rule Section 1-E 1(B) Zoning law states we can have chickens but “NO Chicken Coops” because we must have at least two hundred feet from any adjacent property line. Please help us change this zoning resolution. Did you know that the Montgomery County Rule Section 1-E1(B) Also requires the same distance from the property line for one chicken as it does for ten thousand chickens?  There also is no provision for therapy animals in the Zoning ordinance. In short, you cannot own any therapy animals like poultry unless you have at least six acres of land. This we believe is legislative over reach. The science behind touch animal therapy has been proven to help to de stress returning vets and to help them have a “New Normal” in their life. These therapy animals must have some form of housing to live. You cannot have therapy chickens without a chicken coop. This zoning restriction should be amended so that the distance for coops from a neighboring property line is 90 feet. Due to the majority of new homes built are only on quarter acre lots with only 150 ft.  Changing this rule would allow homes that are built in the Montgomery County area to have a right if the owners have PTSD or other Military medical issues to get the help that they desire and protect the rich agricultural heritage of our great state of Tennessee.

We presently possess medical documentation. This documentation states that these are therapy chickens and if the soldier is not allowed to keep the chickens, his condition could worsen

Michael & Carolyn Wilkinson    Contact the author of the petition