The controversial euthanasia of a Jasper pet within hours of its arrival at the Walker County Humane Society has led to a lawsuit.
That case is shedding new light on Alabama's often confusing animal control laws.
Alabama has no state leash law, but we do have a state confinement law. It's meant mainly for rabies control and it isn't really statewide, according to Donald Kendrick with the Alabama Animal Control Association.
"It has a bit of a loophole in that counties must adopt this law, otherwise your dogs can run loose," said Donald Kendrick.
Pet owners in counties that have adopted the law need to know this.
"If your dog is not confined and he does not have identification he could end up at a couple of places a humane society or an impounding facility," said Donald Kendrick.
What happens next is anyone's guess. Kendrick says your pet could wind up cuddling with volunteers or under the control of county inmates.
"It is not uncommon for county sheriff's departments to use inmates as laborers in the facilities. It's not uncommon at all," said Donald Kendrick.
That's not all Alabama pet owners have to worry about.
"The law says owned animals that are impounded under this law, owned animals, must be kept for seven days to give the owner time to retrieve them. It’s not very clear about what happens to un-owned animals," said Donald Kendrick.
Even if your pet has a collar, a tag, or a microchip it could still be in danger. Kendrick says that the seven day wait does not apply to humane society shelters.
"A lot of times people surrender their animals to the humane societies. They are immediately subjected then to either euthanasia, or adoption depending on how much room the humane society has," said Donald Kendrick.
Under current state law even if a dog kills someone there's no guarantee it will be put down. Likewise a friendly family dog has no guarantee it will live long enough to be picked up from a shelter. Neither pet owners nor the general public know what to expect because laws change from city to city and county to county.
"Well I think if a dog kills somebody they need to be put down, but I think there should be a law protecting pet owners. As a pet owner myself I would hate to think that if a dog got out and went to the pound that it would be put down within ten minutes or even within a few days. You can only react so quickly. I think that's terrible," said Deirdre Lewis.
That's why Donald Kendrick wants to see clear guidelines from state legislators for shelters and pet owners alike. On a related note he says a dangerous dog bill to make pet owners criminally liable for the actions of their animals has failed to pass the state legislature for three straight years.
To read Alabama's pet laws for yourself click on this link http://alisondb.legislature.state.al.us/acas/codeofalabama/1975/55302.htm.
