Patent ID: 7673588

Claim:
A pet tether, comprising: a spiral stake having a spiral portion for screwing said pet tether into ground and a straight portion for extending upwardly when the spiral portion is screwed into the ground; a handle attached to the straight portion of said spiral stake; a tether housing having two substantially circular end faces with a circumferential side wall therebetween, said end faces being spaced opposite one another along a common center axis to provide a substantially cylindrical interior cavity; a bearing chamber extending from the circumferential side wall for rotatably mounting the tether housing to the straight portion of said spiral stake, such that said tether housing extends from said straight portion with the center axis of said end faces perpendicular to a longitudinal axis of said straight portion; an opening in said tether housing, said opening disposed on the circumferential side wall of said tether housing at a point below the center axis of said end faces when said tether housing is mounted on said spiral stake; a tether line disposed in the interior cavity of said tether housing and adapted for deployment from said opening in said tether housing; retraction means arranged in the interior cavity of said tether housing for retracting said tether line after said deployment; and attachment means connected to said tether line for attaching said tether line to a pet collar.