What happens if a canine attacks not you, but your fur baby, causing death or serious injury to your pet? Is it a crime?
The answer is, yes, but not a serious one. This is true, even if others get hurt, trying to save the fur baby. In Pennsylvania, as in many other states, the law treats such events as “summary offenses,” because your fur baby is considered mere “property” under the law. As such, current laws often leave families with limited or no recourse in the criminal justice system after violent attacks on their pets.
But the law my be changing.. in the state of New York, at least.
State Assembly Member Jenifer Rajkumar has recently introduced a new bill called “Penny’s Law.” This legislation aims to strengthen legal protections for pet owners by holding pet owners criminally accountable when their pets harm other animals.
severely injured in an attack. Two pets that were reportedly off leash attacked Penny on the Upper West Side of New York. Penny required hospitalization as a result of the incident.Disturbingly, these same pets allegedly killed another dog in Central Park earlier this year. The circumstances were identical: involving unleashed dogs, with the owner reportedly fleeing the scene. These incidents, along with numerous others throughout New York City, have highlighted the deficiencies in existing laws, which often only allow for legal action if a person has been injured.
New Crimes and Penalties
Rajkumar’s proposed legislation would create several new criminal offenses:
- cruelty to animals through negligent handling of a dog and
- fleeing the scene of an animal attack.
The new law would also impose harsher penalties on repeat violators of leash laws who allow their dogs to roam unsupervised or act aggressively.
At present, no such bill exists in the Pennsylvania legislature. Check back with to learn the status of Penny’s law in New York!
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