For Educational Purposes Only. Laws change, and a summary is never the statute. Every entry links to the official source.
Last verified 15 August 2026.
See something wrong, or a law we’ve missed? Let us know.
Alabama
EMS Treat & Transport
Covers: LE K9. EMS: Treat + transport; VPA carveout. Lakyn Canine Act; good-faith immunity for EMS care/transport of injured police dog. Ownership & property. Veterinary practice act exemption: animal owner, for one enumerated procedure. Appears in relation to embryo removal. Source: AVMA state exemptions chart.
Ala. Code § 22-18-46
Named for Lakyn, a military working dog who died after discharge. Signed 2025 (HB 366).
Does: EMS care & transport
What it says:
Authorizes EMS personnel to give emergency care to, and transport, a police dog injured in the line of duty, with good-faith immunity for the responder and a carve-out from the veterinary practice act so that treating the dog is not unlicensed veterinary practice.
Link: Read the statute
Alaska
No Statute Identified
No specific statute identified in this survey. Ownership & property. Veterinary practice act exemption: owner of farm animals or livestock, or employee. Scoped to routine farming and animal husbandry. Source: AVMA state exemptions chart.
Arizona
EMS Treat & Transport
Covers: LE K9. EMS: Treat + transport (police dog). Requires ambulance-service procedures; immunity; police officer may transport dog in own emergency vehicle. Ownership & property. Veterinary practice act exemption: animal owner or employee. Source: AVMA state exemptions chart.
Does: EMS care & transport
What it says:
Each ambulance service SHALL require its EMTs to transport a police dog injured in the line of duty, along with a trained handler if available, to a veterinary clinic — but only when four conditions all hold: no person needs care or transport at that time, the trip is under thirty minutes, the service still has another ambulance available, and transport by the officer’s own vehicle is not safer or faster. A service MAY also authorize trained EMTs to treat the dog. Written policies may cover first aid, CPR and naloxone, muzzling and handler coordination, which vet facilities will take short-notice cases, and decontamination.
Link: Read the statute
Arkansas
EMS Treat & Transport
Covers: LE K9, SAR K9, Any working K9. EMS: Treat + transport. Gabo’s Law. Also criminalizes injuring/killing/interfering with SAR dogs; felony + restitution. Ownership & property. Veterinary practice act exemption: animal owner or employee. Source: AVMA state exemptions chart.
Ark. Code § 20-13-217
Named for K9 Gabo of the Jonesboro, Arkansas police department, who served seven years with his handler, Inv. Erik Johnson. In December 2018 Gabo was sent into an apartment to apprehend a barricaded suspect who had already shot someone and would not surrender. He was shot five times and did not let go — he kept pulling her from her hiding place until officers could reach her. A bullet- and stab-proof vest stopped the round that would have killed him. Johnson carried him down the stairs and drove him to a veterinarian. Gabo was back on duty two months later, and he and Johnson were named Officer of the Year in 2019; Gabo also received the Medal of Valor. He died in 2020. The statute names itself for him: “This section shall be known and may be cited as ‘Gabo’s Law’.”
Photo of K9 Gabo courtesy of Arkansas K9 MEDIC, used with permission. All rights remain with the copyright owner.
Does: EMS care & transport
What it says:
EMS personnel MAY transport a police dog injured in the course of law enforcement or correctional work to a veterinary hospital, provided no person needs immediate care or transport at the time — a person is always transported and treated first. And during that transport they may treat it: opening and manually maintaining an airway; mouth-to-snout or mouth-to-barrier ventilation; oxygen; managing ventilation by mask; controlling hemorrhage with direct pressure; immobilizing fractures; bandaging; naloxone where a veterinarian has authorized it by written protocol or in consultation; and euthanasia. Responders who help are not liable civilly or criminally for the care given, and are not on the hook for the transport or the vet’s bill. Transport is permitted, never required, and nothing stops an officer from driving the dog themselves. “Police dog” reaches a search and rescue dog, service dog, accelerant detection dog, or other dog in use by a law enforcement agency.
Link: Read the statute
California
EMS Treat & Transport
Covers: LE K9, SAR K9, Any working K9. EMS: Basic first aid + ambulance transport. Public access: hotels/lodging/eating establishments/public transportation when deployed/training away from home jurisdiction. § 54.25 bars extra charges and imposes civil fine for denial/interference. Ownership & property. Veterinary practice act exemption: animal owner or employee. Source: AVMA state exemptions chart.
Enacted: Jan 1, 2019
Does: First Responder – Pet First Aid
What it says:
Statewide since Jan 1 2019: an emergency responder MAY give basic first aid to dogs and cats — oxygen, mask ventilation, manually clearing the upper airway (no intubation or surgery), direct-pressure hemorrhage control, and bandaging to stop bleeding — without being prosecuted for unlicensed veterinary practice, so long as their employer allows it. This is FIRST AID ONLY. It carries no authority to transport, and it is about pets generally rather than working dogs.
Link: Read the statute
Enacted: Jan 1, 2026
Does: First Responder – K9 Transport
What it says:
In force Jan 1 2026. A licensed ambulance operator — or an operator of ambulances run by a federally recognized tribe’s fire department — MAY transport a police canine or a search and rescue dog injured in the line of duty to a veterinary clinic, provided no person needs medical attention or transport at that time. Where feasible the handler rides along to keep control of the dog. A responder MAY give basic first aid en route, notwithstanding the veterinary practice act, and good-faith care is shielded from civil and criminal liability short of gross negligence or willful misconduct. An operator that elects to carry dogs must file transport policies with the local EMS agency. Nothing here compels transport or care.
Link: Read the statute
Colorado
EMS Treat & Transport
Covers: any dog or cat, which reaches working dogs. EMS: preveterinary stabilizing care where trained and employer-authorized. No transport authority. Ownership & property. Veterinary practice act exemption: animal owner or employee. Source: AVMA state exemptions chart.
Enacted: Mar 1, 2014
Does: EMS care & transport
What it says:
The first state in the country to let emergency responders treat animals. An emergency medical service provider MAY give preveterinary emergency care to dogs and cats — immediate medical stabilization by means including oxygen, fluids, medications or bandaging, intended to get the animal to a veterinarian — to the extent the provider has been trained and the employer authorizes it. Carved out of the Veterinary Practice Act, so doing it is not unlicensed veterinary practice. Two limits worth knowing: this is CARE, not transport, and it does not cover a 911 call made solely for an animal unless a person’s life is also at risk.
Link: Read the statute
Connecticut
No Statute Identified
Covers: SAR K9. Public access: public transportation and public accommodations while engaged in SAR operation. Intentional injury/killing of volunteer canine SAR-team dog is criminalized. Ownership & property. Veterinary practice act exemption: none listed. Source: AVMA state exemptions chart.
Delaware
EMS Treat & Transport
Covers: LE K9. EMS: treat at scene + transport with care en route. Ownership & property. Veterinary practice act exemption: animal owner or employee. Source: AVMA state exemptions chart.
Enacted: 2023 (84 Del. Laws, c. 165)
Does: EMS care & transport
What it says:
A paramedic or EMS provider MAY treat an injured police dog at the scene, and MAY transport it to a designated veterinary facility while continuing care en route, where they judge that necessary for the dog’s survival. The handler must be present if available. Good-faith care carries civil immunity unless willful, wanton, reckless or grossly negligent. They may NOT treat the dog if their help is needed at the same time for a person and caring for the dog would hinder that.
Link: Read the statute
Florida
EMS Treat & Transport
Covers: LE K9, SAR K9, Any working K9. EMS: Treat + transport (police canine). Crime protections for police, fire, and SAR dogs; restitution. EMS/VPA law uses broader police-canine definition (includes missing-person duties). Ownership & property. Veterinary practice act exemption: animal owner or employee. Source: AVMA state exemptions chart.
Does: EMS care & transport
What it says:
“Treatment of injured police canines.” A permitted transport vehicle MAY carry a police canine injured in the line of duty to a veterinary clinic when no person needs care or transport at that time — and, notwithstanding the veterinary practice act, a paramedic or EMT MAY give it emergency medical care at the scene as well as during transport. “Police canine” reaches dogs employed by law enforcement, corrections, a fire department, a special fire district or the State Fire Marshal, including for detecting missing persons.
Link: Read the statute
Does: EMS care & transport
What it says:
The other half of Florida’s arrangement. § 474.203 lists who is exempt from the Veterinary Practice Act, and subsection (10) exempts a paramedic or an EMT providing emergency medical care to a police canine injured in the line of duty as authorized under § 401.254 — so the care § 401.254 permits is not unlicensed veterinary practice.
Link: Read the statute
Does: Liability immunity
What it says:
Part of Florida’s Good Samaritan Act. Any person — including a veterinarian — who gratuitously and in good faith gives emergency care or treatment to an injured animal is shielded from civil damages, provided they acted as an ordinarily prudent person would have in the same circumstances. Note the limit that makes this narrower than it first sounds: it applies at the scene of an emergency on or adjacent to a roadway.
Link: Read the statute
Georgia
No Statute Identified
No specific statute identified in this survey. Ownership & property. Veterinary practice act exemption: animal owner or employee. Source: AVMA state exemptions chart.
Hawaii
No Statute Identified
No specific statute identified in this survey. Ownership & property. Veterinary practice act exemption: animal owner or employee. Source: AVMA state exemptions chart.
Idaho
No Statute Identified
No specific statute identified in this survey. Ownership & property. Veterinary practice act exemption: animal owner or employee. Source: AVMA state exemptions chart.
Illinois
EMS Treat & Transport
Covers: LE K9, SAR K9, Any working K9. EMS: Transport (police dog). Humane Care Act bars interference/injury/killing of SAR dogs & SAR dogs in training; Animal Control Act lets vaccinated SAR dog continue duties during observation. Ownership & property. Veterinary practice act exemption: animal owner or employee. Source: AVMA state exemptions chart.
Does: EMS care & transport
What it says:
Subsection (e): an EMR, EMT, EMT-I, A-EMT, PHRN, PHAPRN, PHPA or Paramedic MAY transport a police dog injured in the line of duty to a veterinary clinic when no person requires care or transport at that time. Transport only — no treatment authority is granted. “Police dog” includes a search and rescue dog, service dog, accelerant detection canine, or other dog used by a county, municipal or State law enforcement agency.
Link: Read the statute
Indiana
EMS Treat & Transport
Covers: LE K9, SAR K9, Any working K9. EMS: Treat + transport; VPA exemption. Operational canine includes SAR services. Also criminalizes injury/interference with SAR dog; restitution. Ownership & property. Veterinary practice act exemption: animal owner or employee. Source: AVMA state exemptions chart.
Does: EMS care & transport
What it says:
Chapter 13 of the emergency medical services article is titled Emergency Transport of Operational Canines and runs four sections: 1, “Operational Canine”; 2, Emergency Transport and Care of Operational Canines; Financial Responsibility; 3, Immunity from Liability; 4, No Practice of Veterinary Medicine. It was added by House Enrolled Act 1201, and authorizes certain EMS responders, in certain circumstances, to use emergency ambulance services to transport an operational canine injured in the line of duty to a veterinary hospital or clinic.
Link: Read the statute
Iowa
EMS Treat & Transport
Covers: LE K9. EMS: Scene treat only; no ambulance transport. EMS may stabilize severely injured police service dog after human needs are met; limited immunity. Ownership & property. Veterinary practice act exemption: animal owner or employee. Source: AVMA state exemptions chart.
Does: EMS care & transport
What it says:
Subsection 3, added by 2025 Acts ch. 53 § 1, adds to what a certified emergency medical care provider may do: provide veterinary medical services by diagnosing or treating a severely injured police service dog, as provided in § 169.4. The conditions all sit in that section.
Link: Read the statute
Does: EMS care & transport
What it says:
Subsection 17 — among the most tightly conditioned provisions in the country. An emergency medical care provider MAY ELECT to diagnose or treat a police service dog only where all three hold: the dog was on duty under a peace officer’s supervision, it suffered a severe injury, and the care is needed to immediately stabilize it for later treatment by a veterinarian. They may equally elect NOT to, and if they do act reasonably and in good faith they are not civilly liable. Then the limits: the dog may be treated only after every human at the scene has been fully treated; equipment must not be used, or must be given up, if it is needed for a person or is dispatched elsewhere; care stops if the provider or their vehicle is dispatched elsewhere; and a severely injured police service dog shall not be transported in a vehicle that provides emergency medical or ambulance services. Subsection 5 separately exempts an animal’s owner and their bona fide employees from the practice act — except where ownership was transferred to circumvent the chapter. Subsection 17 is new: 2025 Acts ch. 53 § 2.
Link: Read the statute
Kansas
No Statute Identified
Covers: SAR K9. Harming/killing SAR dog is criminalized; restitution. Ownership & property. Veterinary practice act exemption: animal owner or employee. Source: AVMA state exemptions chart.
Kentucky
No Statute Identified
No specific statute identified in this survey. Ownership & property. Veterinary practice act exemption: animal owner or employee. Source: AVMA state exemptions chart.
Louisiana
No Statute Identified
No specific statute identified in this survey. Ownership & property. Veterinary practice act exemption: animal owner or employee. Source: AVMA state exemptions chart.
Maine
Liability Immunity Only
Covers: LE K9, SAR K9, Any working K9. EMS: Aid immunity only. Public access: public accommodation if assisting commissioner with Bureau-recognized SAR dog. Civil immunity for EMS/security/LE first aid or rescue assistance to LE, SAR, and service dogs. Ownership & property. Veterinary practice act exemption: animal owner or employee. Source: AVMA state exemptions chart.
Does: Liability immunity
What it says:
“Immunity from civil liability for assistance given to law enforcement dogs, search and rescue dogs and service dogs.” Enacted PL 2017 c. 338. It defines “emergency medical services person” by reference to Title 32 § 83(12).
Link: Read the statute
Maryland
Liability Immunity Only
Covers: any animal. No authority to treat or transport — this is an immunity shield for first responders who help when the owner is not there, absent gross negligence, without charging, and in contact with a vet. Ownership & property. Veterinary practice act exemption: none listed. Source: AVMA state exemptions chart.
Enacted: Jul 9, 1905
Does: Liability immunity
What it says:
No civil liability for giving veterinary aid, care or assistance to an animal when the owner or custodian is not there to give permission. It names first responders explicitly — fire departments, ambulance and rescue squads, and law enforcement — alongside veterinarians and medical providers. Three conditions: the act must not be gross negligence, no fee may be charged, and the care must be given in communication with licensed veterinary personnel providing emergency veterinary assistance. This is an immunity shield, not a grant of authority to treat or transport.
Link: Read the statute
Massachusetts
EMS Treat & Transport
Covers: LE K9. EMS: Treat + transport. Nero’s Law; EMS immunity for care/transport of injured police dog. Ownership & property. Veterinary practice act exemption: animal owner or employee. Source: AVMA state exemptions chart.
Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 111C, § 9A
Named for K9 Nero of the Yarmouth, Massachusetts police department, who was wounded in the 2018 attack that killed his handler, Sgt. Sean Gannon. Nero survived. Signed February 2022. Sgt. Gannon’s memorial at the Officer Down Memorial Page
Does: EMS care & transport
What it says:
EMS personnel SHALL treat a police dog injured in the line of duty and transport it by ambulance to a veterinary facility — unless doing so would inhibit their ability to treat or transport a person. This is a duty, not permission. The state must issue regional protocols covering first aid, CPR and life-saving intervention including naloxone (but NOT advanced life support), safe handling with a box muzzle alongside a trained handler, which vet facilities take police dogs, decontamination of the stretcher and patient compartment, and sterilization of the vehicle before it returns to human service.
Link: Read the statute
Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 111C, § 21
Named for K9 Nero of the Yarmouth, Massachusetts police department, who was wounded in the 2018 attack that killed his handler, Sgt. Sean Gannon. Nero survived. Signed February 2022. Sgt. Gannon’s memorial at the Officer Down Memorial Page
Does: EMS care & transport
What it says:
The immunity half of Nero’s Law. EMS personnel who in good faith render emergency first aid, CPR, transportation or other EMS to an injured police dog under § 9A are not personally liable for doing so, nor for transporting the dog to a veterinary care facility — and are not liable to that facility for its expenses where they caused the dog’s admission under emergency conditions.
Link: Read the statute
Michigan
EMS Treat & Transport
Covers: LE K9, SAR K9. EMS: Transport only (police dog). Intentionally harassing/interfering with or harming/killing SAR dog is prohibited. Ownership & property. Veterinary practice act exemption: animal owner or employee. Source: AVMA state exemptions chart.
Does: EMS care & transport
What it says:
An ambulance is not prohibited from providing emergency transport of a police dog injured in the line of duty to a veterinary clinic, where the dog needs emergency treatment and no person requires transport or emergency assistance at that time. Ambulance personnel MAY require that a police officer accompany the dog. Transport only. Added by 2018 Act 600, effective 29 March 2019.
Link: Read the statute
Minnesota
No Statute Identified
Covers: SAR K9. Bodily harm/death to SAR dog is criminalized. Ownership & property. Veterinary practice act exemption: animal owner or employee. Source: AVMA state exemptions chart.
Mississippi
EMS Treat & Transport
Covers: LE K9, SAR K9, Any working K9. EMS: Transport (police dog). SAR included only through police-dog definition for county/municipal/state LE agencies. Ownership & property. Veterinary practice act exemption: animal owner or employee. Source: AVMA state exemptions chart.
Enacted: Jul 1, 2018
Does: EMS care & transport
What it says:
Subsection (4): “An EMT, EMT-A, EMR, or Paramedic may transport a police dog injured in the line of duty to a veterinary clinic, hospital emergency department or similar facility if there are no persons requiring medical attention or transport at that time.” The definition is unusually broad: “police dog” means a dog owned or used by a law enforcement department or agency in the course of its work, including a search and rescue dog, service dog, accelerant detection canine, or other dog in use by a county, municipal or state law enforcement agency. Transport only — the section grants no authority to treat.
Link: Read the statute
Missouri
No Statute Identified
No specific statute identified in this survey. Ownership & property. Veterinary practice act exemption: animal owner or employee. Source: AVMA state exemptions chart.
Montana
No Statute Identified
No specific statute identified in this survey. Ownership & property. Veterinary practice act exemption: owner of farm animals or livestock, or employee. Source: AVMA state exemptions chart.
Nebraska
EMS Treat & Transport
Covers: Any working K9. EMS: Treat + transport. VPA exemption and immunity for emergency care/transport of injured law-enforcement canine. Ownership & property. Veterinary practice act exemption: owner of farm animals or livestock, or employee. Owner of livestock, or a bona fide farm or ranch employee. Source: AVMA state exemptions chart.
Does: EMS care & transport
What it says:
“Law enforcement canine; transportation and emergency medical care; authorized, when; immune from liability.” A licensed emergency transport service MAY carry a law enforcement canine injured in the line of duty to a veterinary clinic when no person requires care or transport. The definition reaches canines serving law enforcement, the Department of Correctional Services, a local fire department or the State Fire Marshal — including for detecting missing persons and investigating fires.
Link: Read the statute
Does: EMS care & transport
What it says:
VPA exemption.
Link: Read the statute
Nevada
No Statute Identified
No specific statute identified in this survey. Ownership & property. Veterinary practice act exemption: animal owner or employee. Also lists gratuitous treatment by friends or neighbors of the owner; zoonotic vaccinations reserved to a veterinarian or someone under a veterinarian’s direct supervision. Source: AVMA state exemptions chart.
New Hampshire
EMS Treat & Transport
Covers: LE K9, SAR K9, Any working K9. EMS: First aid + transport. Public access: public facilities/housing/accommodations while on mission or traveling to/from official duty. Operational canine includes SAR canine; EMS good-faith immunity. Ownership & property. Veterinary practice act exemption: animal owner or employee. Source: AVMA state exemptions chart.
Does: EMS care & transport
What it says:
“Operational Canines; Hospital Treatment,” inside New Hampshire’s Emergency Medical and Trauma Services chapter. An operational canine is one owned or used by a law enforcement department or agency, or a fire department, in the course of that agency’s work. The definition of law enforcement officer also reaches National Guard members in active state service ordered by the governor.
Link: Read the statute
New Jersey
No Statute Identified
Covers: SAR K9. Harming, threatening, or interfering with search-and-rescue dog/handler is criminalized; restitution/fines. Ownership & property. Veterinary practice act exemption: animal owner or employee. Source: AVMA state exemptions chart.
New Mexico
No Statute Identified
No specific statute identified in this survey. Ownership & property. Veterinary practice act exemption: animal owner or employee. Source: AVMA state exemptions chart.
New York
EMS Treat & Transport
Covers: LE K9. EMS: Transport only (police work dog). Ambulance transport allowed if no person requires medical attention/transport first. Ownership & property. Veterinary practice act exemption: none listed. Source: AVMA state exemptions chart.
Does: EMS care & transport
What it says:
A paramedic or EMT MAY transport a police work dog injured in the line of duty to a veterinary clinic, provided no person requires medical attention or transport at that time. Transport only — the section grants no treatment authority.
Link: Read the statute
Does: Liability immunity
What it says:
Veterinarians only. A licensed veterinarian who voluntarily and without expectation of payment renders first aid or emergency treatment to an ill or injured animal at the scene of an accident or other emergency, outside a clinic or veterinary office, is not liable for damages absent gross negligence.
Link: Read the statute
North Carolina
EMS Treat & Transport
Covers: LE K9, SAR K9. EMS: Emergency services/transport at scene; VPA exemption. Expressly covers injured K-9 police animal or certified SAR dog; good-faith immunity. Ownership & property. Veterinary practice act exemption: animal owner or employee. Source: AVMA state exemptions chart.
Does: EMS care & transport
What it says:
Two things in one act: it lets EMS personnel carry pepper spray, and it creates an exemption to the practice of veterinary medicine for emergency personnel who render emergency medical services to an injured K-9 police animal or an injured search and rescue dog at the scene of an emergency.
Link: Read the statute
North Dakota
No Statute Identified
No specific statute identified in this survey. Ownership & property. Veterinary practice act exemption: animal owner or employee. Source: AVMA state exemptions chart.
Ohio
EMS Treat & Transport
Covers: LE K9, Any working K9. EMS: Treat dog/cat; transport police dog. Veterinarian protocols/consult allowed; immunity. Ownership & property. Veterinary practice act exemption: animal owner or employee. Source: AVMA state exemptions chart.
Does: EMS care & transport
What it says:
Broader than most: in the course of an emergency medical, fire, or law-enforcement-aid response, a first responder, EMT-basic, EMT-intermediate or paramedic MAY provide emergency medical services to a dog or cat — not only a police dog — before it is transferred to a veterinarian, but only to the extent they are already authorized to perform the corresponding service on a person. Effective 3 April 2023.
Link: Read the statute
Oklahoma
No Statute Identified
No specific statute identified in this survey. Ownership & property. Veterinary practice act exemption: animal owner or employee. Source: AVMA state exemptions chart.
Oregon
No Statute Identified
No specific statute identified in this survey. Ownership & property. Veterinary practice act exemption: animal owner or employee. Owner, agent or employee may perform veterinary medicine, surgery or dentistry. Source: AVMA state exemptions chart.
Pennsylvania
Liability Immunity Only
Covers: LE K9, SAR K9, Any working K9. Police-animal protections include SAR dogs/tracking animals; harming police animal while evading arrest carries restitution. Ownership & property. Veterinary practice act exemption: animal owner or employee. Source: AVMA state exemptions chart.
Does: Liability immunity
What it says:
Veterinarians only. An individual licensed to practice veterinary medicine who in good faith gives emergency care to an animal found at the scene of an accident or emergency — or brought to them from one — is not liable for civil damages, short of intentional harm or gross negligence. “Good faith” expressly covers judging that care should not wait until the animal is hospitalized. One exception: it does not apply where the owner is present and can be consulted first. Note what this is NOT — it gives a medic, a responder or a handler nothing.
Link: Read the statute
Rhode Island
EMS Treat & Transport
Covers: LE K9. EMS: Treat + transport. EMS protocols/training for emergency treatment and transport of injured police dog. Ownership & property. Veterinary practice act exemption: none listed. Source: AVMA state exemptions chart.
Does: EMS care & transport
What it says:
“Humane transportation of K-9 partners.” EMS personnel MAY give emergency treatment to a police dog injured in the line of duty and transport it by ambulance to a veterinary facility equipped for emergency canine care — unless doing so would inhibit their ability to treat or transport a person. The health department sets the protocols in consultation with the state veterinary medical association.
Link: Read the statute
Does: Liability immunity
What it says:
Veterinarians only. A licensed veterinarian who voluntarily and gratuitously, outside their employment or practice, renders emergency veterinary assistance to an animal in need is not liable for civil damages amounting to ordinary negligence. The immunity does not extend to gross negligence.
Link: Read the statute
South Carolina
No Statute Identified
Covers: LE K9 (and police horses). Felony for killing or disabling; misdemeanor for tormenting; restitution. Ownership & property. Veterinary practice act exemption: animal owner or employee. Source: AVMA state exemptions chart.
South Dakota
No Statute Identified
No specific statute identified in this survey. Ownership & property. Veterinary practice act exemption: owner of farm animals or livestock, or employee. Livestock owner, employee, or someone acting free of charge. Source: AVMA state exemptions chart.
Tennessee
EMS Treat & Transport
Covers: SAR K9, Any working K9. Injury/kill/interference protections; restitution. Ownership & property. Veterinary practice act exemption: animal owner or employee. Source: AVMA state exemptions chart.
Tennessee K-9 Emergency Medical Care and Transport Act (SB 2069, 2026)
Enacted by SB 2069, 114th General Assembly; effective April 16, 2026.
Enacted: Apr 16, 2026
Does: EMS care & transport
What it says:
Authorizes EMS to give emergency stabilizing care to an injured canine first responder and to transport it — by ground OR by air — to a veterinary facility when no human patient requires care, with good-faith immunity for the responder. Amends Tenn. Code Title 39 ch. 14 pt. 2, Title 44 ch. 17, Title 63 ch. 12 and Title 68 ch. 140. NOTE: this post-dates the research survey we started from, which still showed Tennessee as protections-only.
Link: Read the statute
Texas
No Statute Identified
Covers: SAR K9. Public access: public facilities, public conveyances (incl. airplane), and housing. No extra charge/deposit; handler must keep dog leashed/harnessed and is liable for uncontrolled damage. Ownership & property. Veterinary practice act exemption: animal owner or employee. Source: AVMA state exemptions chart.
Utah
No Statute Identified
No specific statute identified in this survey. Ownership & property. Veterinary practice act exemption: animal owner or employee. Source: AVMA state exemptions chart.
Vermont
No Statute Identified
No specific statute identified in this survey. Ownership & property. Veterinary practice act exemption: animal owner or employee. Source: AVMA state exemptions chart.
Virginia
No Statute Identified
No specific statute identified in this survey. Ownership & property. Veterinary practice act exemption: animal owner or employee. Source: AVMA state exemptions chart.
Washington
No Statute Identified
Covers: SAR K9. Interference with on-duty SAR dog is criminalized; theft of on-duty SAR dog elevated to first-degree theft. Ownership & property. Veterinary practice act exemption: animal owner or employee. Source: AVMA state exemptions chart.
West Virginia
No Statute Identified
No specific statute identified in this survey. Ownership & property. Veterinary practice act exemption: animal owner or employee. Source: AVMA state exemptions chart.
Wisconsin
EMS Treat & Transport
Covers: any domestic animal, which reaches working dogs, plus SAR dogs specifically. EMS: first aid within the responder’s own human scope of practice, with civil and criminal immunity. No transport authority. Also protects SAR dogs from harassment and harm, and requires consistent lodging access for them. Ownership & property. Veterinary practice act exemption: none listed. Source: AVMA state exemptions chart.
Enacted: 2017 (Act 166)
Does: EMS care & transport
What it says:
An EMS practitioner or emergency medical responder who, while responding to a call, comes across a sick or injured domestic animal MAY render any first aid service that is within their own human scope of practice, before handing the animal to a veterinarian. The ambulance service and the responder are immune from civil AND criminal liability for how it turns out — and equally immune for declining to help. Care only; the section grants no transport authority.
Link: Read the statute
Wyoming
No Statute Identified
Covers: SAR K9. Disabling/killing SAR dog prohibited; restitution and felony penalties. Ownership & property. Veterinary practice act exemption: animal owner or employee. Source: AVMA state exemptions chart.
District of Columbia
No Statute Identified
Ownership & property. Veterinary practice act exemption: an employee or agent of the federal or District government while performing official duties; a person exempt under that paragraph may not perform surgical operations. Source: AVMA state exemptions chart.
