Bill > HB5550

This bill, known as the West Virginia Safe Outdoor Dogs Act, aims to enhance protections for animals, particularly dogs, exposed to extreme weather conditions. It amends existing law to define specific requirements for animal shelter, mandating that any shelter provided for a tethered or free-roaming dog must be a four-sided structure with a roof and a single, appropriately sized opening, ensuring it is moisture-proof, windproof, ventilated, and promotes heat retention with a raised, solid floor and suitable bedding like hay or straw, excluding blankets that can freeze. The bill also stipulates that dogs in confinement areas need approximately 100 square feet of floor space per dog over four months old, with the same shelter requirements applying. Crucially, it prohibits keeping dogs outside for more than 30 minutes during extreme weather events, including heat of 85 degrees Fahrenheit and above, freezing temperatures of 32 degrees Fahrenheit and below, and severe weather like thunderstorms, hail, high winds, ice, snowstorms, tornados, or floods, though exceptions are made for working dogs if an animal control officer deems them safe and equipped to tolerate their environment when not working.

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http://www.wvlegislature.gov/Bill_Status/Bills_history.cfm?input=5550&year=2026&sessiontype=RS&btype=bill