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Council reviews proposed ordinance letting first responders break into vehicles to rescue animals; shelter capacity and enforcement questioned
Summary
Council members reviewed a proposed ordinance to authorize trained first responders to enter unattended vehicles and rescue animals in distress; the draft is patterned on Louisville Metro’s law and includes requirements to try to locate owners and coordinate with animal control.
Councilwoman Merle introduced a proposed ordinance that would permit trained first responders — police, fire, EMS and animal‑control officers — to enter unattended motor vehicles to rescue animals in distress, and to seize animals if necessary, with procedural safeguards spelled out in the draft.
Joy Keeley, identified in the meeting as the Kentucky Link Coalition founder and a retired Louisville Metro lieutenant, told the council she drafted Louisville Metro’s ordinance and recommended a locally tailored version. Keeley said she based the proposal on KRS 411.24245…
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