(a) Any dog or cat imported into this state shall be accompanied by a certificate of health issued no earlier than thirty days prior to the date of importation by a licensed, graduate veterinarian stating that such dog or cat is free from symptoms of any infectious, contagious or communicable disease, and that such dog or cat, if three months of age or older, is currently vaccinated for rabies by a licensed veterinarian. A copy of such health certificate shall be forwarded promptly to the commissioner from the livestock sanitary official of the state of origin. Any dog or cat originating from a rabies quarantine area shall have permission of the State Veterinarian prior to importation into this state. No person, firm or corporation shall import or export for the purposes of sale, adoption or transfer or offering for sale, adoption or transfer any dog or cat under the age of eight weeks unless such dog or cat is transported with its dam and no person, firm or corporation shall sell or offer for adoption or transfer within the state any dog or cat under the age of eight weeks. Any person, firm or corporation violating the provisions of this subsection or bringing any dog or cat into this state from an area under quarantine for rabies shall be fined not more than one thousand dollars.

(b) Any dog sold or offered for sale by a pet shop licensee in this state shall be accompanied by a certificate of origin identifying the name and address of the person, firm or corporation that bred such dog and of any person, firm or corporation that sold such dog to such pet shop licensee. Such certificate shall be in a form as prescribed by the Commissioner of Agriculture. Such information contained in the certificate of origin shall be posted on the sign described in section 22-344d and such information shall be visible to customers. A copy of such certificate shall be provided to the purchaser of such dog at the time of sale and shall be filed by such licensee with the Department of Agriculture not later than seven days after such sale. No pet shop licensee shall purchase a dog or cat for resale or sell or offer for sale any dog or cat purchased from: (1) Any breeder that (A) is not in possession of a current license issued by the United States Department of Agriculture and any applicable state agency, (B) was found to have committed a direct violation of pet dealer-related regulations of the United States Department of Agriculture during the two-year period prior to such purchase, or (C) was found to have committed three or more indirect violations of pet dealer-related regulations of the United States Department of Agriculture during the two-year period prior to such purchase provided such violations pertained to the health or welfare of an animal and were not administrative in nature; or (2) any other person, firm or corporation that: (A) Is not in possession of a current license issued by the United States Department of Agriculture and any applicable state agency, (B) was found to have committed a direct violation of pet dealer-related regulations of the United States Department of Agriculture during the two-year period prior to such purchase, (C) was found to have committed three or more indirect violations of pet dealer-related regulations of the United States Department of Agriculture during the two-year period prior to such purchase provided such violations pertained to the health or welfare of an animal and were not administrative in nature, or (D) directly or indirectly, has obtained such dog or cat from a breeder described in subdivision (1) of this subsection. Any pet shop licensee violating the provisions of this subsection shall be fined not more than one thousand dollars for each violation. Each day a pet shop licensee is in violation of this subsection shall constitute a separate offense.

(1951, S. 713b; 1953, S. 1837d; 1957, P.A. 74, S. 2; 1963, P.A. 613, S. 25; P.A. 74-22; P.A. 91-46, S. 5, 12; P.A. 96-243, S. 14, 16; P.A. 04-145, S. 2; P.A. 09-228, S. 3; P.A. 10-100, S. 2; P.A. 11-187, S. 3; P.A. 14-77, S. 4.)

History: 1963 act changed maximum amount of time dog may remain in state without health certificate and/or state license from 21 to 30 days; P.A. 74-22 added provisions re import or export of dogs less than 8 weeks old; P.A. 91-46 added cats to coverage under this section, added requirement that any importation of dogs or cats from a rabies quarantine area be approved by the state veterinarian, deleting provision which had allowed certificate issued by livestock sanitary official of state of origin as proof of animals' health, changed maximum time lapse since vaccination from 6 to 12 months and deleted provision excepting show animals not kept in-state for more than 30 days from provisions of section; P.A. 96-243 modified the vaccination requirement for importation of dogs and cats, deleting former provisions re exposure to rabies and vaccination within certain timeframe, effective June 6, 1996; P.A. 04-145 added 30-day certificate of health issuance restriction, effective May 21, 2004; P.A. 09-228 designated existing provisions as Subsec. (a) and made technical changes therein, and added Subsec. (b) re certificates of origin for dogs sold or offered for sale by pet shop licensees and purchase by pet shop licensees of dogs and cats from outside of state, effective July 1, 2009; P.A. 10-100 amended Subsec. (b) by adding requirement that certificate be in form prescribed by commissioner, by replacing requirement that information be posted in conspicuous manner not more than 10 feet from location where dog is displayed for sale with requirement that information be posted on sign described in Sec. 22-344d and be visible to customers and by changing requirement for filing of certificate with department from not later than 2 days after sale to not later than 7 days after sale; P.A. 11-187 amended Subsec. (a) by adding provisions re sale or offer for adoption or transfer and increasing fine from $100 to $500; P.A. 14-77 amended Subsec. (a) by increasing fine from not more than $500 to not more than $1,000 and deleting provision re imprisonment of not more than 30 days, and amended Subsec. (b) by adding Subdiv. (1) prohibiting pet shop licensee from purchasing a dog or cat from a breeder not in possession of current license or found to have committed direct or indirect violations of regulations, by designating existing provision re possession of current license as Subdiv. (2) and amending same to add Subparas. (B) to (D) re direct or indirect violations of regulations or obtaining dog or cat from a breeder described in Subdiv. (1), by increasing fine from not more than $100 to not more than $1,000 and deleting provision re imprisonment of not more than 30 days, and by making conforming changes.