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Aug 6, 2008 9:47 pm US/Pacific
New CA Law To Save Pets Abandoned In Foreclosure
SACRAMENTO (BCN) ―
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger approved a new law Monday thought up by a Concord resident that will help address the problem of pets being abandoned and left to die in foreclosed homes.
Under current law, bank employees and other people who enter foreclosed homes are required to leave property, which includes pets, untouched until the foreclosure process is completed.
Assembly Bill 2949, which was authored by Assemblyman Mark DeSaulnier, D-Martinez, and co-sponsored by the California Animal Association and the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, will require anyone who encounters an abandoned pet to immediately call animal control, according to DeSaulnier's office.
Animal control will have the right to seize the animal or post a notice of their intent to seize it.
Animal control officials will also have the right to secure a lien against the pet's owner to pay for rescuing and caring for the animal.
The idea for the new law came from Concord resident Sheri Kuticka, who entered DeSaulnier's "There Ought to be a Law" contest because she wanted to do something about the rising number of animals that are being abandoned as a result of home foreclosures, according to DeSaulnier.
The new law will go into effect in January.
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