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Sponsors
1 Co-sponsor
History
- Referred to investigations and government operations
- Referred to investigations and government operations
Companion bill
The same bill in the other chamber. A bill becomes law when one version passes both houses and the governor signs it, so either number can carry it.
Designates rescue dogs as the official state dog
In Assembly Committee · Governmental Operations · Sponsor Micah Kellner
Full text
The text isn't available here yet. Check nysenate.gov.
Sponsor's memo
BILL NUMBER:S4781
Title of bill
An act to amend the state law, in relation to designating rescue dogs as the official state dog
Purpose or general idea of bill
To designate the rescue dog as the official state dog of New York.
Summary of specific provisions
Section 1:
Declaration of legislative intent.
Section 2:
-Amends the state law by adding a new section 84-a designating the rescue dog as the official dog of the state of New York; defines "rescue dog" as a dog of any breed or mixture that has been rescued and adopted from an animal shelter or rescue group in the state.
Section 3: Act to take effect immediately.
Justification
As many as 4 million dogs enter animal shelters in the United States each year. Over 90% of these dogs are savable. Most of them are simply victims of circumstance, ending up in a shelter through no fault of their own: a person moves, a couple divorces, a job is lost, someone gets ill or dies. Most of the dogs are healthy, well-behaved, and even house trained.
Unfortunately, some people perceive rescue animals as "damaged," concerned that the reason they are in the shelter is because something is wrong with them. Nothing could be further from the truth. But because of that perception, some people choose not to adopt. Tragically, roughly half of all dogs in shelters are killed.
The deaths of these innocent animals can be prevented by adoption. Shelter and rescue animals are eager to become beloved members of a family, and they can become the most unconditionally loving and loyal pets, grateful for a second chance. Animals adopted from a shelter or rescue group are usually neutered or spayed, thus reducing the population of unwanted dogs and cats in the state. Additionally, most of these animals are already trained and housebroken.
By designating the rescue dog as the official dog of the state of New York, this legislation will promote and encourage the adoption of animals from animal shelters and animal rescue organizations, and will recognize the services these organizations provide. As with the designation of other state symbols, such as the state flower or state
tree, designating the rescue dog as official state dog will serve an important educational function. The state will promote humane education, providing opportunities for children in particular to learn.about adopting rescued animals, as well as about the importance of measures such as spaying and neutering pets, providing them with microchip identification implants, and providing responsive pet care-all of which have been proven to reduce the number of animals arriving in shelters.
Prior legislative history
None.
Fiscal implications
None.
Effective date
Act to take effect immediately.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.