New Hampshire SB 446: requiring animal care center operators to notify dog owners when a dog will be left unattended and to report injuries to animals or people which occur on the premises of the animal care center.

Bill Text

SB 446-FN - AS AMENDED BY THE SENATE

02/19/2026 0685s

2026 SESSION

 26-2013

 08/09

SENATE BILL 446-FN

AN ACT requiring animal care center operators to notify dog owners when a dog will be left unattended and to report injuries to animals or people which occur on the premises of the animal care center. 

SPONSORS: Sen. Ward, Dist 8; Sen. Innis, Dist 7; Sen. Avard, Dist 12; Sen. Birdsell, Dist 19

COMMITTEE: Commerce

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ANALYSIS

This bill:

 I. Requires that animal care centers notify dog owners when a dog will be left unattended and if the center is not equipped with a functioning fire protection sprinkler system.

 II. Requires that animal care centers report injuries that occur to people or animals on the animal care center's property.

 III. Enables local law enforcement to annually inspect animal care centers and provides a penalty for not maintaining proper care of the animal care center.

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Explanation: Matter added to current law appears in bold italics.

 Matter removed from current law appears [in brackets and struckthrough.]

 Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.

02/19/2026 0685s 26-2013

 08/09

STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE

In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Twenty-Six

AN ACT requiring animal care center operators to notify dog owners when a dog will be left unattended and to report injuries to animals or people which occur on the premises of the animal care center. 

Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:

 1 New Subdivision; Animal Care Center Requirements. Amend RSA 437 by inserting after section 22 the following new subdivision: 

Animal Care Center Requirements

 437:23 Definitions. In this subdivision: 

 I. "Animal care center" means a commercial dog care facility, including boarding kennels, dog daycare facilities, board-and-train programs, and grooming facilities when dogs are kept under the facility’s supervision for a period of time. “Animal care center” shall not include a private residence where 5 or fewer dogs, not owned by the resident, are cared for at a time in exchange for a fee, licensed veterinary establishments, humane societies, animal shelters, municipal impound facilities, or licensed pet vendors regulated under other provisions of law. 

 II. “Fire protection sprinkler system” means an assembly of underground or overhead piping or conduits that conveys water with or without other agents to dispersal openings or devices to extinguish, control, or contain fire and to provide protection from exposure to fire or the products of combustion. 

 III. “Proper care” means an animal care center that: 

 (a) Is structurally sound;

 (b) Is maintained in good repair to:

 (1) Protect the animals from injury;

 (2) Contain the animals; and

 (3) Prohibit the entrance of other animals;

 (c) Has reliable and adequate electric power and potable water;

 (d) Has supplies of food and bedding stored in facilities that adequately protect such supplies against infestation or contamination by vermin, with refrigeration provided for supplies of perishable food; and

 (e) Disposes of waste according to the following: 

 (1) Any waste that would be considered infectious waste shall be stored, treated, transported, and properly disposed of;

 (2) Provisions shall be made for the removal and disposal of:

 (A) Animal and food wastes;

 (B) Bedding;

 (C) Dead animals; and

 (D) Debris;

 (3) Disposal facilities shall be constructed to prevent and minimize: 

 (A) Vermin infestation;

 (B) Odors; and

 (C) Disease hazards; and

 (4) Waste shall be removed as often as necessary, but no less than once daily, unless otherwise specified in the written animal health program. 

 437:24 Informed Consent Required. 

 I. An animal care center owner or operator who is boarding or providing services to 6 or more dogs at the center shall not leave the dogs unattended without an employee present unless: 

 (a) The animal care center owner or operator provides to the owner of the dog written notice that:

 (1) The dog will be left unattended at the animal care center without an employee present during the hours specified in the notice; and

 (2) If the animal care center is not equipped with a functioning fire protection sprinkler system, notice that the animal care center does not have a fire protection system; and

 (b) The owner of the dog provides to the animal care center owner or operator a signed document consenting to the dog being left unattended as provided in the notice. 

 II. An animal care center owner or operator who is boarding or providing services to 6 or more dogs at the center shall provide to the owner of the dog written notice that he or