By: SENATOR BILL LIESKE
This week I want to highlight an example of a wrecked law that emerged from 2023. When Senate Republicans talk about Repairing Minnesota, this is what we mean. It is not just about big issues like the mandates that have crushed school budgets or the $360 million in accidental task increases. It is also about cleaning up messes that won’t get big headlines.
In this case, it is about helping families reunite with their stray pets.
My bill is Senate File 3703. It simply says that if a person finds a stray animal and knows who the owner is, they must alert the owner. If they do not know who the owner is, they must file a notice with the town or city clerk and post a notice online along with a description. It has strong bipartisan support.
Sounds straightforward. So why is it needed? This is where it gets interesting.
Last session, the Democrats’ Judiciary bill deleted a section of laws that govern county recorders – specifically, the requirements that they keep books of stray animals.
Literally. In a law going back to 1905, county recorders are required to keep a physical log book of all stray animals in their jurisdiction. Obviously that practice has not been used for a very long time. But in deleting that chunk of laws, the bill also accidentally eliminated several other rules related to stray animals – including requirements for people who find them.
This means right now, under current law, if your animal gets out and someone finds it, they can do whatever they want with it. They can keep it. They can sell it. They can give it away. There is no law on the books that forces them to give it back to you or notify someone they found it.
You might be thinking that these situations would be covered under our theft laws. But they aren’t, because strays are not technically stolen property.
This is a much more common problem than you might think. For example, Fox 9 ran a story in January about a family whose dog, Buddy, escaped their yard. A few days later, a Craigslist ad appeared of somebody selling what appeared to be the family’s dog. It has been more than 70 days, and they are still trying to get Buddy back.
About ten million pets go missing every year in the U.S., and tragically, around 35% never return home. Online lost pet posts are often met with comments encouraging finders to keep the animal or give it away, based on assumptions about its care. This mindset is misguided and can prevent reunions with distraught owners. Losing a pet happens all too often, and without clear legal obligations for finders, many more animals will fail to make it back to their families.
My sincere hope is that repairing this law will help more families be reunited with their missing pets.
Contact me
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