Exciting New Legislation Passed For New York State Dog Owners

This new legislation is great news for dog owners of bully breeds like American Pit Bull Terriers, English Bulldogs, Bull Mastiffs, Bull Terriers, Rotties, Dobermans, German Shepherds and more.

New York State Assembly bill A4075 has been passed and is now on the way to Governor Cuomo to sign into law. This new law will stop the discrimination against certain dog breeds and states the following:

Prohibits insurers from refusing to issue or renew, cancel, or charge or impose an increased premium for certain policies based solely on the breed of dog owned [NYS]

This will amend the insurance law and prohibit insurers from canceling, refusing to issue or renew, or charging higher premiums for homeowners' insurance based on the breed of dog owned. Insurance companies will no longer be allowed to impose an increased premium because of owning a dog of a specific breed or mixture of breeds.

Jennifer Elizabeth, owner and operator of House of Paws Rescue in Utica tells us:

"this is a great step forward for people who own dogs and consider them part of their family. They should not be declined coverage or offered an unaffordable policy because of the breed of dog."

So many dogs get a bad rap because of their breed. Not all Pit Bulls, Rottweilers, German Shepards, and other big breeds are bad or unpredictable.

Dee Dee Schaefer, Humane Education at the CNY SPCA, tells us Assembly Bill A4075  is a HUGE win for owners of breeds deemed as "dangerous".

The CNY SPCA and countless other shelters, rescues etc lose adoptions because homeowner insurance either does not cover or charges out-of-control rates for bully breeds, Rotties, Dobermans, German Shepherds, and Mastiffs.

Many landlords allow pets, but not the above-mentioned breeds, because their insurances would not cover them. Countless amazing dogs are sitting in shelters because their breed has been discriminated against for years. Several people have had to surrender their dogs because homeowners insurance was going to drop their insurance. Finding new insurance at a higher much higher rate wasn't in their budget.

Hillary Snogles-Dunn of the Stevens-Swan Humane Society Says this bill is a big win for dogs in shelters because often times people don’t want to adopt Pitbulls, German Shepherds, Rottweilers, Huskies or other specific breeds because they’re afraid their homeowner's insurance will raise their premiums or no longer insure them at all.

This bill makes it so that insurance companies can no longer discriminate against any breed by dropping coverage, raising premiums, or refusing to insure you completely over the breed of your dog. No dog should be singled out based solely on breed. Every dog should be treated as an individual, and this bill allows for that.

This is a huge step forward in stopping BSL (Breed-specific legislation).