Share:
House Co-Sponsorship Memoranda
House of Representatives
Session of 2019 - 2020
Regular Session
MEMORANDUM
| Posted: | January 31, 2019 12:10 PM |
|---|---|
| From: | Representative Scott Conklin |
| To: | All House members |
| Subject: | Keep K9 Cars Cool |
| It happens far too often. Pets and service dogs are left outside to endure extreme weather conditions. Recently, a drug-detecting dog named Totti was left inside a hot vehicle for over two hours after a training exercise at the State Correctional Institution at Rockview. Sadly, Totti, a two year-old yellow lab, succumbed to injuries sustained as a result of being locked in a hot car and died. While an investigation into the matter is pending, I believe that we can do more to protect animals like Totti who do so much to enhance our lives and protect not only us but our property. Two years ago, my local news station aired a segment about police departments that utilize K-9 heat detection devices in police vehicles in order to ensure the safety of service dogs when the temperature in the vehicle reaches a dangerous level. These heat detection devices sound an alarm which triggers the car’s windows to be lowered so that the car’s temperature can be lowered to within a safe range for the animal to survive. At a cost of around $900.00, I believe that these machines are a reasonable safety precaution that can be used to prevent the loss of a trained police dog, which costs roughly $200,000 to train. Service dogs do so much for us, that is why it is so important that we do all that we can to protect them. It is said that we can judge the heart of a society by the way that it treats its animals. It is our duty to protect the most vulnerable in our communities, this includes the dogs that put their trust in us. Please join me in the fight to ensure that service dogs are treated humanely, by supporting this legislation. |
Introduced as HB816