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House Co-Sponsorship Memoranda
House of Representatives
Session of 2023 - 2024
Regular Session
MEMORANDUM
| Posted: | June 28, 2023 02:40 PM |
|---|---|
| From: | Representative Natalie Mihalek |
| To: | All House members |
| Subject: | Nuggie's Law |
| August 7, 2022. A day the Moss family of Cumberland County will never forget. They had just adopted a puppy and named him Nuggie. Nuggie was full of life and great with the two young Moss children. Shortly after Nuggie became a part of the Moss family, they took a pre-planned trip and had arranged for Nuggie to stay at a locally owned kennel while they were away. After visiting the facility and combing through hundreds of online reviews, the family was assured Nuggie would be in good hands. In the early morning hours of August 7, the family received a call alerting them that when the kennel opened that morning, Nuggie was discovered trapped under a gap in his indoor enclosure, on top of a considerable amount of blood, with large bite marks covering his two front legs. With no overnight staff and no video cameras, the facility had no way of knowing how long Nuggie was trapped or how long he had been bleeding and in pain. He was transported to an emergency vet where he underwent several hours of surgery. The emergency vet reported his two front legs were so badly bitten that raw flesh was exposed, and he had large gaping holes from his paws all the way up to his armpits. Under Pennsylvania law, one of the few kennel regulations on the books states, “the floor shall not permit the feet of any dog housed in the primary enclosure to pass through any opening”. At this particular kennel, Nuggie, at 30 pounds, had enough space to wedge his paws underneath at which point a pit bull in the adjacent kennel proceeded to attack Nuggie. In March of 2022, just a few months prior to this horrific incident, the Cumberland County dog warden visited this particular facility, and despite the large gaps in the enclosures, the facility was given a pass for the inspection. After Nuggie’s incident was a reported to the dog warden, a $100 fine was assessed to the facility. My legislation seeks to improve Pennsylvania’s Dog Law by requiring solid dividers to be used for pet enclosures at commercial facilities and require that the use of a video system to monitor and record the conditions of the pets lodged there, if no employees are present. It also increases the penalties related to violations for non-compliance. When Pennsylvania families entrust the care of their pets to a kennel, they should have confidence that their loved ones will be safe during their stay. If something unfortunate should occur, our laws should punish the offenders. Nuggie’s nightmare is one that could have been avoided. Please join me in sponsoring this legislation to ensure no other families have to experience what Nuggie went through. |