Over the last few years concerns about a rise in petnapping have occasionally struck our fair metropolis and now the folks up in Albany are doing something about it. Because punishing those who steal pets is clearly a top priority issue the State Senate easily passed a bill 58-3 yesterday that would make it a class E felony to steal a cat or dog, instead of the misdemeanor it currently is. Which means getting caught stealing a pet could send you to the slammer for up to four years. The Assembly is expected to pass its version of the bill later this month.
"Pets are family members, and we want to make sure they are protected like anybody else," Republican state Senator and sponsor Carl Marcellino explained to the News. The justification in the bill itself for bumping petnapping up to a felony, however, is just as much about making sure police actually have a reason to look for missing pets:
Since the dollar value of the stolen property needed to qualify for a felony larceny was raised to $1,000, police authorities take only limited action on reported thefts of dogs and cats. It is often very difficult to establish the value of a dog or cat, particularly when the animal is not recovered. Even when the stolen dog or cat is a pedigree, it is still difficult to place a dollar amount on the animal because lineage is only one factor to be considered when estimating value. In any event, it is impossible to place a dollar value on the love and companionship provided by a pet. This bill would rectify this situation.
But really, it is all about the kids: "It is devastating to a family to have the family pet stolen," said Marcellino. "Children don't understand it."
And while we're talking about stealing pets, here's an awesome music video on the topic:
