Maryland House Amends Pet Store Warranty Bill

The Maryland House of Delegates’ Economic Matters Committee amended and passed Thursday a bill (HB 131) that would establish a dog warranty law. A full vote by the House is imminent, according to the Washington, D.C.-based Pet Industry Joint Advisory Council.

The amendments decrease the time a purchaser has to have the dog examined by a licensed veterinarian in order to seek a remedy under the law from 21 days to seven days. The purchaser now has 14 days after the date of sale to obtain documentation from a veterinarian that states the dog suffers from, or has died of, a disease or illness that existed on or before the date of sale.

The amended version also caps reimbursement by the retail pet store for veterinarian’s fees to twice the purchase price instead of three times the purchase price that was in the original bill.

The Pet Industry Joint Advisory Council said allowing reimbursements of twice the purchase price is still excessive and could be detrimental to small retail pet businesses.

Additionally, the amended version removes a provision allowing civil penalties of $500 - $1,000 for pet stores violating the law. Instead, it defines such violations as unfair or deceptive trade practices as set out in the Maryland Consumer Protection Act.

The amended version still calls for pet stores that sell dogs to post “conspicuously on each dog’s cage” information about the dog and its source, including breed and birth date (if known) and state in which the breeder or dealer is located and its U.S. Department of Agriculture license number.

PIJAC said requiring this information be posted or given to those who are not bona fide customers invites harassment of breeders and allows buyers to circumvent pet stores by going directly to the breeder for their purchase. 

Pet stores would also be required to maintain a written record with that information, identifying markings of the dog, and medical treatments administered for each dog in the possession of the store. Stores would also need to keep records of who transported the dog, various identifier information (tag, tattoos, microchips), whether the dog is registerable or registered, and other information for at least one year after the sale of a dog.

A companion Senate bill (SB 317), which is identical to the original House bill, will be heard by the Senate’s finance committee on Feb. 23, 2012. At this time, no amendments have been made to that bill.

Maryland is also considering establishing an animal abuse registry. Under a bill introduced in the state Senate, pet stores, breeders and animal shelters would be required to check to see if a person seeking to buy or adopt an animal is listed in the Maryland Animal Abuse Registry.

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