SPONSORED BY COUNCILWOMAN DARLENE HARRIS
Title
Ordinance amending the Pittsburgh City Code at Title 6: Conduct, Article III: - Dogs, Cats and Other Animals, Chapter 633 Dogs and Cats, by adding a new section at 633.24, granting authority for public safety officials to enter a vehicle to protect the health and safety of an animal contained within.
Body
Whereas, leaving animals unattended in a parked vehicle during warm or cool weather, or without proper ventilation, can lead to severe injury or death; and,
Whereas, numerous studies have demonstrated that temperatures can rise rapidly inside a parked vehicle, even when it is parked in the shade or if windows are cracked; and,
Whereas, organizations such as the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) and the Humane Society have published warnings about leaving pets unattended in vehicles during warm or cool weather, even for a few minutes; and,
Whereas, it is estimated that hundreds of pets die each year from heat stroke, dehydration, and other causes while they are left in a parked vehicle; and,
Whereas, providing express legal permission for public safety personnel to enter a vehicle in order to protect the health and safety of an animal, could save lives.
Be it therefore resolved that the Council of the City of Pittsburgh hereby enacts as follows:
Section 1. Ordinance amending the Pittsburgh City Code at Title 6: Conduct, Article III: - Dogs, Cats and Other Animals, Chapter 633 Dogs and Cats, by adding a new section at 623.24, granting authority for public safety officials to enter a vehicle to protect the health and safety of an animal contained within.
(a) In order to protect the health and safety of an animal, a law enforcement officer, firefighter, paramedic, or animal control officer, who has probable cause to believe that an animal is confined in a motor vehicle under conditions that are likely to cause suffering, injury, or death to the animal due to heat, cold, lack of adequate ventilation, or under other endangering conditions, may enter the motor vehicle by any reasonable means under the circumstances after making a reasonable effort to locate the owner or other person responsible for the animal.
(b) The law enforcement officer, firefighter, paramedic, or animal control officer who removes an animal from a motor vehicle pursuant to this section shall be immune from civil or criminal liability that might otherwise result from the removal.