Posted: | March 10, 2015 10:41 AM |
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From: | Representative William C. Kortz, II |
To: | All House members |
Subject: | Legislation Regarding Lost Dogs (Former HB 538) |
In the near future, I will be re-introducing legislation (former HB 538) that would make it more likely that dog owners will recover their dog when it is lost. Currently, Act 225 of 1982, otherwise known as the Dog Law, requires a minimum of a 48-hour holding period when authorized officials find an unlicensed dog that is running at large. After this period, the dog “may be humanely killed or given to a humane society or association for the prevention of cruelty to animals.” In some instances, when an unlicensed dog is running at large, the owner may be away for the weekend, and unbeknownst to them, their dog has left their property. Therefore, the 48-hour period may elapse while the owner is away, thus permitting their dog to be euthanized or turned over to an animal rescue group without the owner ever realizing their dog was missing. The legislation that I will be re-introducing would help rectify this problem by extending the 48-hour holding period to 96 hours (excluding weekends and official holidays). Additionally, this legislation would require police departments to maintain a list of dogs (licensed and unlicensed) found running at large within their jurisdiction and require that this information be made available to the public. Please join me in co-sponsoring this important legislation. Previous Co-sponsors of Former HB 538: SIMMONS, MILLARD , ROZZI, O'BRIEN , PASHINSKI , COHEN , W. KELLER , READSHAW , STEPHENS, D. COSTA, CALTAGIRONE , HARHAI , DeLUCA , HALUSKA , SWANGER , HESS , MOUL , MURT , FRANKEL , WHITE , MILNE , PEIFER , FABRIZIO , DENLINGER , GOODMAN and FARRY |
Introduced as HB1819