An amended New Hampshire Senate Bill 268 is scheduled for consideration by the State Senate on Thursday, March 16, 2023.
As originally filed, SB 268 would have allowed transportation of and pre-hospital treatment for police dogs injured in the line of duty if no human would need transport or ambulance services. The American Kennel Club (AKC) issued an alert and testified in support of the bill on March 7.
After hearing additional testimony that dogs may also work with fire departments or county, municipal, or state law enforcement agencies, the Senate Judiciary Committee expanded SB 268 to apply not only to police dogs, but also to search and rescue, accelerant-detection, and comfort dogs. Because providing specialized care to assure the wellbeing of these dogs is important, AKC supports amended SB 268.
WHAT YOU CAN DO: New Hampshire residents are strongly encouraged to contact their state senator in support of SB 268, as amended, prior to the March 16 scheduled session.
- If you know your Senator’s name, find their contact information here.
- To identify your Senator, click this page, type in your town and select “search”.
- Click on “District” and you will be linked to your Senator’s details.
Consider including the following talking points:
- Breeding programs produce high quality dogs that are valuable assets when trained for drug, bomb, and arson detection, as well as tracking to locate missing persons or fugitives.
- Emergency medical care providers have skills that can prevent prolonged suffering from any injury sustained while working.
- Support amended SB 268 so working dogs can receive the emergency treatment and transport they deserve.
For more information on these or other legislative issues in New Hampshire, contact AKC’s Government Relations Department at 919-816-3720 or doglaw@akc.org; or the Dog Owners of the Granite State at dogs.nh@gmail.com.