4:22-17.3 Unlawful to cruelly restrain a dog.

3. a. It is unlawful for any person to cruelly restrain a dog.

b. A person cruelly restrains a dog if the person tethers a dog:

(1) which is a nursing female, or which is less than four months old;

(2) outdoors between the hours of 11 p.m. and 5 a.m., but this paragraph shall not take effect until 18 months after the date on which this act takes effect;

(3) in an unoccupied building or upon vacant property;

(4) in a manner that does not permit the dog continuous access to water in a sanitary and liquid state whenever the dog is tethered for more than 30 minutes;

(5) in a manner that exposes the dog to adverse environmental conditions for more than 30 minutes;

(6) by means of a choke collar, prong collar, head harness, or any other type of collar, harness, or similar device other than a properly fitted body harness or buckle-type collar;

(7) by using a chain with metal links that are more than one-quarter of an inch thick, or a tether, collar, or harness to which a weight is attached;

(8) with a tether on which more than one dog is restrained;

(9) with a tether that is less than 15 feet in length or which does not permit the dog to walk at least 15 feet in any one direction; or

(10) with a tether that permits the dog to reach another dog or an object or location that poses a risk of entanglement, strangulation, drowning, or other harm to the health or safety of the dog, including, but not limited to, another dog's tether or a window sill, fence, wall, porch, terrace railing, vehicle, tree, pole, pool, or public road or highway.

c. Paragraphs (2), (9), and (10) of subsection b. of this section shall not apply if any person, including the dog's owner or the person with custody or control of the dog:

(1) is in the presence of the dog at all times while the dog is tethered, whether indoors or outdoors; and

(2) can see the dog at all times while the dog is tethered, unless the person is blind or visually impaired so that the person cannot see the dog due to the blindness or visual impairment, in which case the person shall remain immediately adjacent to the dog at all times while the dog is tethered.

As used in this subsection, "blind" means a person whose vision in the person's better eye with proper correction does not exceed 20/200 or who has a field defect in the person's better eye with proper correction which contracts the peripheral field so that the diameter of the visual field subtends an angle no greater than 20 degrees; and "visually impaired" means having a condition in which a person has a corrected visual acuity not exceeding 20/70, but not less than 20/200, in the person's better eye, or in which the peripheral field of the person's vision has contracted so that the diameter of the visual field subtends an angle no greater than 40 degrees but no less than 20 degrees.

d. (1) The owner of a dog shall be liable for a violation of subsections a. and b. of this section that occurs on any property belonging to the owner or on which the owner resides at the time of the violation, regardless of whether the owner is present when the violation occurs.

(2) The person with custody or control of a dog who is not the owner of the dog shall be liable for a violation of subsections a. and b. of this section that occurs on any property belonging to the person with custody or control of the dog or on which the person with custody or control of the dog resides at the time of the violation, regardless of whether the person is present when the violation occurs.

(3) Paragraph (9) of subsection b. of this section shall not apply if the dog is indoors and a person is indoors with the dog.

L.2017, c.189, s.3.