Senate panel weighs good Samaritan bill for pets’ caregivers

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ANNAPOLIS – Animal-rights groups and emergency responders flocked to a Senate committee Thursday in support of legislation to protect from civil liability veterinarians, police, firefighters and other rescue personnel when they provide care to gravely hurt pets whose owners are not available to give permission.

“Our first responders have our backs and our pet’s backs,” said Lisa Radov, chair of Maryland Votes for Animals. “Shouldn’t we have theirs as well?”

Radov testified before the Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee as it considers Senate Bill 269, which would immunize first responders from liability unless they were grossly negligent in caring for animals in distress.

Sen. Susan C. Lee, D-Montgomery, said she introduced the bill in response to an advisory letter from the Maryland attorney general’s office indicating that the state’s good-Samaritan protection for caregivers does not apply to the care of pets, leaving first responders susceptible to liability if they act without a pet owner’s express permission.

“This bill would close a loophole,” Radov told the committee. Protection from liability would ensure that first responders “do not hesitate” to care for injured dogs, cats and other household pets, Radov added.

The advocates and responders told the Senate panel of times when firefighters provided emergency medical care to pets rescued from burning homes without trying to contact their owners because the time delay could have proven fatal to the animals.

“We’re here to serve and protect,” said Jamie McNeil, president of the Talbot County Volunteer Fire and Rescue Association. “We make the rescues, whatever they might be.”

The bill’s protection from liability applies to first responders, including police officers, professional and volunteer firefighters and emergency medical technicians; veterinarians and the veterinary students they supervise; and anyone licensed by Maryland to provide medical care.

The measure would not cover members of the general public, an exception that drew questions from Sen. Delores G. Kelley, D-Baltimore County, who imagined a house fire in which a neighbor was the first to respond.

“Why wouldn’t you want your neighbor to rescue your dog?” asked Kelley, vice chair of the Senate committee.

Radov replied that supporters of SB 269 were concerned that lawmakers would not yet support immunizing non-emergency personnel from liability.

“We were thinking of crawling before we could walk,” Radov said.

The attorney general’s office, which spurred the legislation with its advisory letter, stated in testimony that it also supports the legislation.

SB 269 has been cross-filed in the House of Delegates. Del. Clarence K. Lam, D-Howard and Baltimore counties, is chief sponsor of House Bill 216.