For dogs and other pets nationwide, 2007 promises to be a good year, ushering in new legal protections designed to keep them healthy and happy.
Starting Monday in California, tethering a dog to a stationary object for more than three hours will be illegal, punishable by up to six months in jail and a $1,000 fine. Before, animal control officers would have to stake out a tethered dog for days to prove it was being kept in inhumane conditions. Now, with a three-hour limit they will be able to intervene more quickly.
Also, leaving pets unattended in vehicles in extreme weather or without food and water will also become a crime. This gives animal enforcement officers have new authority to break into cars quickly when animals are suffering. Previously, they had to call in local police or other authorities or risk legal complications if they acted on their own.
A third new law in California, written in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, requires the state to create a plan for evacuating pets in case of a disaster.
In 2007 Ohio will become the 35th state where pet owners can establish trust funds for their pets in the event the owner dies or becomes incapacitated.
And Maine is the first nation in the country to enact a law which would protect animals in cases of domestic violence where partners are leaving abusive situations. Often there has been no penalty for destroying an animal which the law deemed as mutually owned property. The new law allows the person leaving to take the pet or come back to the residence and retrieve it.
Animal welfare advocates say they sense growing support for their issues largely due to Katrina when people saw graphically on tv that people were willing to risk their own lives to protect their pets. We say, it’s about time!
