Wyoming committee advances bill to extend protections to service dogs in training, raises penalties for injuring them

Cheyenne — The Agriculture, State & Public Lands & Water Resources Committee voted 8–1 to advance Senate File 147 on a voice and roll-call combination vote after debate over penalty levels and prosecutorial concerns.

Senator Lynn Hutchings, sponsor of the bill, told the committee the measure “specifying that the rights and obligations applicable to service and assistance animals apply to service and assistance animals that are being trained,” and would increase the penalty for injuring or killing a service animal. Hutchings said Wyoming statutes on the subject “have not been updated since 1977.”

The bill would add language to existing law to treat animals that “are being trained to work, provide assistance, or perform tasks for the benefit of a person with a disability” the same as fully placed service animals. Hutchings and multiple witnesses cited the Americans with Disabilities Act and its implementing regulation (CFR 36.104) as the model for the statutory language.

Michelle Warner, co‑founder and chief executive officer of Canines for Mobility in Cheyenne, testified the organization has placed dozens of service dogs and is accredited by Assistance Dogs International. Warner told the committee…