Animal-welfare bills named for local puppy Libre passes Senate, goes to governor to become law

A grassroots movement to protect animals in Pennsylvania -- sparked by the plight of a dying dog rescued from a southern Lancaster County farm on July 4, 2016 -- bore fruit Tuesday when the state Senate unanimously approved a package of bills strengthening animal-cruelty laws.

The bill package, dubbed Libre's Law after a Boston terrier whose plight last year drew national attention and known collectively as the Animal Abuse Statute Overhaul, goes to the governor's desk for final approval. Gov. Tom Wolf has already said he will sign the package.

House Bill 1238 passed the state House in April. This month, it got unanimous support from the Senate's judiciary and appropriations committees.

Kristen Tullo, the Humane Society's Pennsylvania director, said in an email Tuesday that the bill set is the "most comprehensive animal protection package in state history."

Animal-welfare advocates have pushed for years to expand cruelty laws in Pennsylvania. Tullo called Tuesday's action a "historic legislative step toward protecting the animals of Pennsylvania from abuse and neglect."

Wolf, in a message encouraging the Senate to approve the bill package Tuesday morning, said he is "eager to sign" the bills into law.

"I applaud the sponsors and advocates who have fought for too long to improve Pennsylvania's protections for animals," Wolf said, noting that Pennsylvania is only one of three states "that does not have a felony statute for severe animal abuse."

Previously, according to Humane PA, a political action committee devoted to animal-welfare issues, a felony charge for animal cruelty was only possible in Pennsylvania in cases involving animal fighting or killing an endangered species.

The package spells out differing grades of cruelty and the offenses attached to each. Grades range from neglect, which is the failure to provide necessary food, water, shelter or veterinary care, to cruelty, when someone "intentionally, knowingly or recklessly illtreats, overloads, beats, abandons or abuses" an animal, causing bodily harm, according to the draft bill. Aggravated cruelty is defined as torturing an animal or causing serious bodily injury or death to an animal through neglect or cruelty.

Penalties range from 90 days in jail and a $300 fine to seven years in jail and a $15,000 fine.

The bill also places "reasonable limitations" on tethering dogs outside, according to Humane PA. That means dogs must be provided with basic needs, including water and shade, while on a tether, and the dog should not spend more than nine hours tethered in a 24-hour period.

Dogs also should not be tethered outside, the law states, for more than 30 minutes when the temperature exceeds 90 degrees or is below freezing. Additional language in the bill regulates collars, the length of the tether, waste and other issues.

Also, the bill provides civil immunity for veterinarians, vet -techs and Humane Society police officers, protecting them from lawsuits for reporting cases of animal cruelty.

Other bills introduced in 2016 and 2017 have been known as Libre's Law, although this is the first version of the bill to pass both the House and Senate. It's named for Libre, a puppy suffering from extreme neglect that was rescued last year from a farm near Quarryville.

Libre's fight to survive drew support from people across the country. The dog was adopted by Janine Guido, founder of Speranza Animal Rescue, who was one of several people involved in Libre's rescue.