BOSTON (WHDH) - A group of people and their pets rallied at the State House Wednesday, pushing for lawmakers to pass a bill to create regulations for animal boarding facilities.
The calls for change were sparked by a pet who was killed while at a doggy daycare.
Gathered this week alongside two dozen members of the “Ollie’s Law Coalition,” that pet’s owner and one of the organization’s co-founders discussed her personal connection to the issue at hand.
“Three years ago, in 2020, my seven-month-old puppy spent 90 minutes at a doggy daycare and was ripped apart,” Amy Baxter said. “It’s hard to keep talking about it and to relive it over and over, but I do it so no one else has to go through what my family and I endured.”
The Ollie’s Law Coalition says Massachusetts currently has no state regulations for animal boarding facilities. Members are hoping state lawmakers can change that fact by passing Ollie’s Bill, also known as An Act to Increase Kennel Safety.
Ollie’s Law is named for Baxter’s labradoodle, Ollie, who died two months after his injuries at the doggy daycare in 2020.
“While the facility was shuttered by town officials, Baxter was stunned to learn that there were no state regulations regarding boarding facilities, and soon took up the fight to help ensure tragedies like this never happen again,” the coalition said in a statement this week.
Baxter discussed the bill on Wednesday, noting staffing requirements, injury reporting and required emergency plans and protocols as important elements.
Beyond Baxter, the current lack of regulations also hits close to home for others. Some say, if Ollie’s Law was in place, their pet may still be alive.
“It’s really important that the industry that takes care of our pets, which are for a lot of us our children, is really regulated and that there’s oversight,” said Peter Shoudy, an advocate for Ollie’s Law. “Our dog was being cared for by an owner of a pet care facility and was killed by another dog and he denied it.”
Advocates for Ollie’s Law say they’re hoping the legislation will get passed during the current State House session.
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