House panel adopts substitute for HB149 to set minimum care standards for tethered dogs

A House committee on Monday adopted a substitute to House Bill 149 that lays out minimum care standards for tethered domestic dogs and clarifies enforcement options under the existing animal cruelty law.

Representative (bill sponsor) told the committee the substitute narrows language in the current statute to define "adequate" food, water and shelter for dogs and adds enforcement language tied to the existing animal cruelty law. "This bill has been a a lot of collaborative effort, a lot of feedback from a lot of different groups," the Representative (bill sponsor) said, adding the measure was intended to focus on domestic pets and would not target working or agricultural dogs.

The substitute defines adequate food as "food that is sufficient in…