Newsom signs bill that seeks to help abused dogs and cats avoid long shelter stays
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Set us as preferred Gov.Gavin Newsom on Friday signed legislation that seeks to remove abused and neglected animals from crowded municipal shelters during their owners’ criminal cases, according to the bill’s backers.Assembly Bill 2344 by Assemblymember Matt Haney (D-San Francisco) declares animals seized in cruelty criminal cases “abandoned,” which allows them to be ultimately adopted or placed in foster homes, rather than face months living in a kennel.The bill, signed by Newsom on Friday, targets animals who are considered “evidence” in a criminal case, according to Haney’s spokesperson.
These animals often sit for months in shelters as their owners’ court cases proceed.A 2022 Times investigation into “evidence animals” found the city for years kept dogs who were seized in abuse or neglect cases confined to their kennels, barring them from exercise with volunteers, the Times found.One dog, Bruce, whose neck was slashed by his owner, spent seven months at the shelter as investigators sought charges, trembling in his kennel and looking scared, according to visitors.
He remained off-limits to volunteers for regular walks or yard time because of the ongoing criminal case.Los Angeles Animal Services staff argued that evidence dogs were kept largely off-limits for volunteers to walk because, unlike other animals at the shelter, the dogs weren’t the property of the city.Haney’s bill was sponsored by Los Angeles County Dist.Atty.
Nathan Hochman and the advocacy group Social Compassion in Legislation.Backers say it closes a loophole in existing law by stating that animals seized by police officers or animal control officers without a warrant can be deemed abandoned after a 14-day period.The shelter can then take steps toward adoption and fostering the animal, according to Special Assistant Dist.
Atty.Da...