ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — The New York state Senate has voted to crack down on people who abandon their pets.
The bill would make the maximum penalty for animal abandonment a year in jail and/or a $2,000 fine. Currently it is a year in jail and/or a $1,000 fine.
Republican Sen. Carl Marcellino, the sponsor of the bill, says people who abandon their pets are "classless and heartless" and that the penalty for the crime needs to match its seriousness.
Officials cited several recent cases of dogs abandoned in the cold, including one tied to a pole on a roadway in Albany and another whose paws froze to the ground in New York City.
The Senate approved the bill on Wednesday. The bill now goes to the Assembly for consideration.
