LANSING, Mich., March 3, 2025 — State Rep. Penelope Tsernoglou (D-East Lansing), alongside state Reps. Joseph Aragona (R-Clinton Twp.) and Brian BeGole (R-Antrim Twp.), have introduced “Buddy’s Law” to protect animals from abuse. House Bills 4030, 4031 and 4032 were named “Buddy’s Law” in honor of Buddy, a dog who froze to death in 2021 when his owner left him chained outside for 24 hours a day in the middle of the winter. These bills would fix a loophole that has prevented local animal control and law enforcement agencies from being able to rescue animals kept outside in harsh weather conditions without access to adequate shelter.
“I am excited to once again introduce these long overdue pieces of legislation,” Tsernoglou said. “The weather conditions this winter have been incredibly harsh, with wind chills regularly falling below zero degrees. I can’t even imagine how many dogs have been unfairly subjected to these punishing conditions in recent months. It is our duty as legislators to get this done as soon as possible so that pets across the state do not freeze amidst this unseasonably cold winter.”
House Bills 4030-32 will add “insulation and protection from the cold and damp” to the definition of “shelter,” to ensure that animals are receiving adequate protection at all times. Furthermore, this legislation clarifies that transport crates, crawl spaces under vehicles, decks and other forms of makeshift shelters are not adequate protection from harsh elements or weather conditions for dogs, unless they have been modified to include proper temperature control or insulation.
“As a longtime volunteer and president of the Macomb Humane Society, I have witnessed countless pets face neglect, with some suffering life-long injuries such as frostbite,” Aragona said. “I am proud to sponsor this legislation, and I hope we can work together to get this commonsense proposal signed into law.
“Every year it seems like we read about and see heartbreaking stories like Buddy’s, where a pet is left outside in awful and inhumane conditions. No animal should have to suffer outside in the frigid cold without shelter at the hands of an abusive or neglectful owner,” BeGole said. “These bills will save animals and empower our hardworking law enforcement and animal control officers to be able to intervene in cases where there’s clear neglect and an animal’s life is at risk.”
House Bills 4130-32 were referred to the House Judiciary Committee, where they await a hearing.
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