Most pet owners are not actively involved in canine legislation. The process itself for any proposed new or amended law does not favor the average citizen. There are no government-issued alerts to dog owners when laws might be changed to affect them. Unless a dog owner, or voter for that matter, takes it upon themselves to be informed or join a group that will issue alerts in their area of interest, most state government rolls along until we read about something in the media. And that only happens when the media reports on it, so they basically select it, and then you have to read it to become aware.cga.ct.govThe Connecticut General Assembly website, Lisa Peterson writes about history, horses, and hounds at lisaunleashed.com. You can reach her at lisa.peterson@barngirlmedia.com.

On March 9, the Connecticut General Assembly's Joint Committee on the Environment held public hearings on a number of dog-related bills. Some of these bills have to do with funding public regional shelters. Another is trying to impose restrictions on the care of your pets, specifically tethering and adequate shelters requirements. Another one is looking to start a work/study group regarding dangerous dogs and their disposition in the criminal justice system, and finally one wants to add municipal facilities to the list of registered and inspected shelters by the state.

, has some great search features for learning. You can read the actual bills and all public hearing testimony from those who wrote letters to those who testified in person. You can also follow the progress of each bill through the legislative process.

Currently, all the bills described below have been sent to the Office of Legislative Research and Office of Fiscal Analysis. It appears they should be reporting their findings in the coming week. I urge all dog owners, and anyone who cares about dog safety, health, and care, as well as fiscal responsibility by the state, to look up each bill and read about. If you are so moved, please reach out to your legislators to voice your opinion on these bills before they are voted on further. Below are short summaries on each bill. During April, I plan to examine each of these bills, its pros and cons, and what the ultimate outlook might be for the dogs and Connecticut residents they target.

House Bill 5355 seeks to amend several statutes regarding how a dog may be kept outdoors. First, the bill requires that a dog must be provided continuous access to water whenever tethered for more than 15 minutes. Second, it requires a dog tethered for more than 15 minutes to be provided with continuous access to adequate shelter when it is located in an area subject to a weather advisory or warning or when environmental conditions (including heat, cold, direct sunlight, wind, rain, snow, or hail) that a person should reasonably know pose an adverse risk to the health or safety of the dog based on the dog's physical characteristics. This requirement is waived if a person is in the presence of the dog and exposed to the same environmental conditions as the dog at all times that the dog is exposed to the adverse environmental conditions. The bill also specifically defines what may constitute an adequate shelter - including water access, light, space, construction, and temperature requirements - and includes any part of the residence of an owner.

House Bill 5362 adds municipal pounds or shelters to the state's shelter registration and inspection requirements.

House Bill 5367 requires the Commissioner of Agriculture to convene a working group to develop recommendations for legislation to reduce the number of attacks by domestic animals that result in the death or serious injury of another animal or person, and mitigate the effects of disposal orders for such attacking domestic animals on municipalities and the state. The group shall consist of the commissioner of agriculture (or designee), the state veterinarian, a representative of an organization that represents animal control officers, a representative of AKC, a representative of an organization that represents dog bite victims, the chief elected officials of two municipalities, a representative of the insurance industry, a representative of the attorney general's office, a representative of a municipal police department, and a representative of the Connecticut State Police. Recommendations by the group are due to the General Assembly by January 1, 2019.

Senate Bill 349 provides for the funding of regional animal shelters - for two or more contiguous towns each of which has a population of less than 25,000 - by providing that up to 25 percent of the costs of operating any such facility will come out of the state's animal population control account.