Police Dog Bill Passes State
Senate
(10/30/2007)
MADISON—Legislation introduced by State Representative Samantha Kerkman (R-Randall) that provides an exception from the quarantine rules for police dogs passed the State Senate today on a voice vote. Assembly Bill 52 now moves on to the Governor for final approval.
Currently in Wisconsin, every dog that bites a person must be quarantined for ten days and receive a series of three veterinary check-ups during those ten days. This is an important law that’s in place to check for the rabies virus and to prevent its spread, but it lacks the exception for law enforcement dogs.
“I introduced this legislation at the urging of a constituent of mine, Eric Klinkhammer of the Kenosha County Sheriff’s Department,” said Rep. Kerkman. “Eric alerted me to the problem of having to quarantine police dogs in the same way other dogs are quarantined for 10 days following bites,” Kerkman said. “These dogs are valuable assets to law enforcement agencies across our state – taking them out of commission for 10 days serves no good purpose,” said Kerkman.
The WPPA was the first organization to support this legislation
when it was introduced in January. Anyone with questions or comments
regarding this measure is welcome to contact WPPA Assistant Executive
Director Jim Palmer, either by telephone at 800.362.8838, or by
e-mail at palmer@wppa.com.
