Provides for the certification and regulation of pet groomers and pet grooming facilities; establishes standards of care, training and testing

1 Co-sponsor

• Phil Boyle

BILL NUMBER:S3682

Title of bill

An act to amend the general business law, in relation to the certification and regulation of pet groomers

Purpose

Provides for the certification and regulation of pet groomers and pet grooming facilities; establishes standards of care, training and testing.

Summary of provisions

The general business law is amended by adding a new article 29-CCC Article 29- CCC.

Establishes definitions of the terms "pet," "pet groomer," and "pet grooming facility."

Establishes a standard of care such as cage condition and size; outdoor and indoor conditions; needs of individual pets; phone numbers provided for pet owners to make opinions of service known; and pet groomer insurance coverage.

Establishes a standard of pet groomer records and establishes a two year period from the date of service for the records to be maintained.

Establishes a bureau or office for the certification of individuals as pet groomers, maintenance of a roster of certification holders and establishes qualifications for pet groomers and those hired under pet groomer's supervision.

Establishes the power of the secretary of state to decline, grant, renew, suspend or revoke a per groomer's certification.

Establishes mandatory yearly inspections, by trained personnel, of pet grooming facilities to ensure compliance.

Establishes necessary civil sanctions for violations of this article.

Establishes that current practitioners can continue working without a certification up to one year, but within said year have to apply for a pet groomer's certification.

Justification

This bill is in response to an incident of animal cruelty that was committed which could have been prevented and furthermore could not be punishable under law even though the groomer was uncertified and practiced pet grooming in a reckless manner.

The instance of animal cruelty look place on December 15, 2012 where a family scheduled an appointment to have their two dogs groomed by a local mobile dog grooming service. Unbeknownst to the pet owner, family, the groomer they had scheduled an appointment with was uncertified. After two hours of grooming, the family became concerned and questioned the groomer only to find out that he had accidentally

killed both dogs while he was grooming them. The groomer's response was simply that he claimed to have passed out and woke up to two dead dogs. After the incident, the pet owner found that the van was wet and unsanitary. The woman could not file charges because pet groomers are not currently required to have a certification to work on animals. Additionally, cars, such as the one used in the mobile pet grooming service, are not currently considered a pet grooming facility and therefore cannot be investigated by the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene in an event of alleged unsanitary conditions and unlawful action.

The loss of a pet can be tragic to an individual and/or family; therefore there must be laws in place to make sure an incident such as the one described above does not happen again. Enforcing regulations for the certification of pet groomers will help to prevent any further instances of this kind.

Legislative history

A.6082A of 2014: referred to economic development

Fiscal implications

To be determined.

Effective date

This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall have become a law; provided, however, that effective immediately the addition, amendment or repeal of any rule or regulation necessary for the implementation of this act on its effective date are authorized and directed to be made and completed on or before such effective date.