“The passage of Buster’s Law was fantastic as one of the first animal cruelty felony laws in the nation. Our animals give us unconditional love and are a cherished part of many of our families.  The FBI has animal cruelty as a top tier Group A offense in its crime reporting statistics due to it being a bridge crime and those that harm animals can and often go on to hurt humans.”

“The court’s verdict in the ‘A Time for Paws’ case and lack of justice for the Levy family whose French Bulldog Gus was killed at the facility underscores the need for passage of my bi-partisan NYS Safe Pet Boarding Act (S.8510) to strengthen protections for our animals by creating clear, consistent oversight for pet boarding facilities.” 

“What we have right now in New York State is the ‘Wild West’ of animal care laws and that’s led to one terrible tragedy after another. Families deserve the comfort of knowing and peace of mind that when they leave their pets at a doggy day care or boarding facility, they will be cared for like the loving family members they are and not left to suffer and die. Enough is enough!”

Senator Tedisco’s NYS Safe Pet Boarding Act would set some minimum standards at the state level for oversight of doggy day care and boarding facilities.  Currently, it’s up to local governments to regulate these facilities and enforce any violations.

The NYS Safe Pet Boarding Act would: 

• Establish state licensing of all commercial boarding facilities.  

• Enable random inspections from NYS Ag & Markets. 

• Ensure facilities have adequate space to house animals to prevent overcrowding and always have proper ventilation and temperature control, including back-up procedures if the air conditioning or heating goes off. 

• Proper daily nutrition and ready access to clean water for animals residing at the facilities. 

• Require animal care training standards for all staff. 

• Maintain vaccination record of dogs in facility. 

• Require full transparency by having the state produce and post online an annual Report Card of licensed boarding facilities that’s accessible to the public. 

• Licensed veterinary practices that operate boarding facilities are exempted from this bill as they are already under state oversight. 

Violations of the law could result in fines, suspension and loss of state license to operate as a business. Any violation that uncovers harm to an animal could be referred to law enforcement for criminal prosecution.