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| THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA |
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| SENATE BILL |
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| INTRODUCED BY LOGAN, KITCHEN, BOSCOLA, FONTANA, STACK, COSTA, ALLOWAY, RAFFERTY AND FERLO, MARCH 20, 2009 |
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| REFERRED TO AGRICULTURE AND RURAL AFFAIRS, MARCH 20, 2009 |
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| AN ACT |
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1 | Amending the act of December 7, 1982 (P.L.784, No.225), |
2 | entitled, as amended, "An act relating to dogs, regulating |
3 | the keeping of dogs; providing for the licensing of dogs and |
4 | kennels; providing for the protection of dogs and the |
5 | detention and destruction of dogs in certain cases; |
6 | regulating the sale and transportation of dogs; declaring |
7 | dogs to be personal property and the subject of theft; |
8 | providing for the abandonment of animals; providing for the |
9 | assessment of damages done to animals; providing for payment |
10 | of damages by the Commonwealth in certain cases and the |
11 | liability of the owner or keeper of dogs for such damages; |
12 | imposing powers and duties on certain State and local |
13 | officers and employees; providing penalties; and creating a |
14 | Dog Law Restricted Account," further providing for dogs and |
15 | cats at large; and providing for access to and destruction of |
16 | seized and detained cats. |
17 | The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania |
18 | hereby enacts as follows: |
19 | Section 1. The heading of Article III of the act of December |
20 | 7, 1982 (P.L.784, No.225), known as the Dog Law, amended October |
21 | 9, 2008 (P.L.1450, No.119), is amended to read: |
22 | ARTICLE III |
23 | QUARANTINES, DOGS AND CATS AT LARGE, CONFINEMENT |
24 | Section 2. Section 302 of the act, amended October 9, 2008 |
25 | (P.L.1450, No.119), is amended to read: |
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1 | Section 302. Seizure and detention of dogs and cats; costs; |
2 | destruction of dogs and cats. |
3 | (a) General rule.--It shall be the duty of every police |
4 | officer, State dog warden, employee of the department or animal |
5 | control officer to seize and detain any dog which is found |
6 | running at large, either upon the public streets or highways of |
7 | the Commonwealth, or upon the property of a person other than |
8 | the owner of the dog, and unaccompanied by the owner or keeper. |
9 | Every police officer, State dog warden, employee of the |
10 | department or animal control officer may humanely kill any dog |
11 | which is found running at large and is deemed after due |
12 | consideration by the police officer, State dog warden, employee |
13 | of the department or animal control officer to constitute a |
14 | threat to the public health and welfare. |
15 | (b) Licensed dogs.--The State dog warden or employee of the |
16 | department, the animal control officer, or the chief of police |
17 | or his agents of any city, borough, town or township, the |
18 | constable of any borough and the constable of any incorporated |
19 | town or township shall cause any dog bearing a proper license |
20 | tag or permanent identification and so seized and detained to be |
21 | properly kept and fed at any licensed kennel approved by the |
22 | secretary for those purposes and shall cause immediate notice, |
23 | by personal service or registered or certified mail with return |
24 | receipt requested, to the last known address, which shall be set |
25 | forth in the license application record, of the person in whose |
26 | name the license was procured, or his agent, to claim the dog |
27 | within five days after receipt thereof. The owner or claimant of |
28 | a dog so detained shall pay a penalty of $50 to the political |
29 | subdivision whose police officers make the seizures and |
30 | detention and all reasonable expenses incurred by reason of its |
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1 | detention to the detaining parties before the dog is returned. |
2 | If five days after obtaining the postal return receipt, the dog |
3 | has not been claimed, such chief of police, or his agent, or a |
4 | constable, or State dog warden or employee of the department |
5 | shall dispense the dog by sale or by giving it to a humane |
6 | society or association for the prevention of cruelty to animals. |
7 | No dog so caught and detained shall be sold for the purpose of |
8 | vivisection, or research, or be conveyed in any manner for these |
9 | purposes. All moneys derived from the sale of the dog, after |
10 | deducting the expenses of its detention, shall be paid through |
11 | the Department of Agriculture to the State Treasurer for credit |
12 | to the Dog Law Restricted Account. |
13 | (c) Unlicensed dogs.--Except as otherwise provided by |
14 | section 305, any police officer, State dog warden, employee of |
15 | the department or animal control officer shall cause any |
16 | unlicensed dog to be seized, detained, kept and fed for a period |
17 | of 48 hours at any licensed kennel approved by the secretary for |
18 | those purposes, except any dog seriously ill or injured or |
19 | forfeited with the owner's permission. The 48-hour period shall |
20 | not include days the approved kennel is not open to the general |
21 | public. Any person may view the detained dogs during normal |
22 | business hours. Any unlicensed dog remaining unclaimed after 48 |
23 | hours may be humanely killed or given to a humane society or |
24 | association for the prevention of cruelty to animals. No dog so |
25 | caught and detained shall be sold for the purpose of |
26 | vivisection, or research, or be conveyed in any manner for these |
27 | purposes. |
28 | (d) Access to and destruction of seized and detained cats.-- |
29 | (1) A person may view during normal business hours any |
30 | cats that have been seized for running at large and detained |
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1 | at a licensed kennel approved by the secretary for such |
2 | purposes by any animal control officer. |
3 | (2) A cat that has been so seized and detained for |
4 | running at large and that does not have indication of owner |
5 | identification shall be kept and fed at the licensed kennel |
6 | for a period of 48 hours. A cat remaining unclaimed after 48 |
7 | hours may be humanely killed or given to a humane society or |
8 | association for prevention of cruelty to animals. |
9 | (3) A cat that has been so seized and detained for |
10 | running at large and that has indication of owner |
11 | identification shall be kept and fed at a licensed kennel for |
12 | a period of five days, or for such additional days as |
13 | provided in this paragraph. At a minimum, an attempt to |
14 | contact the owner of the cat shall be made on at least two |
15 | different days. If the cat has not been claimed within five |
16 | days following the date the owner is successfully contacted, |
17 | of if the owner cannot be reached following the attempts to |
18 | contact the owner over the initial period of five days, the |
19 | cat may be humanely killed or given to a humane society or |
20 | association for the prevention of cruelty to animals. |
21 | Section 3. This act shall take effect in 60 days. |
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