{"id":508848,"date":"2026-10-26T22:52:11","date_gmt":"2026-10-26T22:52:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/508848\/"},"modified":"2026-10-26T22:52:11","modified_gmt":"2026-10-26T22:52:11","slug":"james-gallagher-introduces-dunkins-law-after-dog-deaths","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/508848\/","title":{"rendered":"James Gallagher introduces Dunkin’s Law after dog deaths"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Daniel<\/p>\n

Northern California Congressman James Gallagher has introduced legislation aiming to bring more accountability to pet-care facilities when dogs and cats are harmed, neglected or killed.<\/p>\n

James Gallagher, R-Yuba City, cited the need for the legislation in the wake of 117 dead dogs being found at mass burial sites in Humboldt County. The animals\u2019 remains were discovered at Miranda\u2019s Rescue Animal Sanctuary in Fortuna. A preliminary examination of 70 dogs found evidence of gunshots in many of the animals. <\/p>\n

(Previous coverage in the video above.)<\/p>\n

At least two of the dogs found dead had been transferred from Stockton Animal Services, KCRA 3 previously reported<\/a>. <\/p>\n

Gallagher\u2019s legislation is named Dunkin\u2019s Law in honor of a dog who died at a boarding facility. <\/p>\n

Current law often treats companion animals as property, which limits legal remedies when the animals are harmed, according to Gallagher\u2019s office. <\/p>\n

The new legislation would amend the Animal Welfare Act to recognize cats and dogs as sentient beings and establish a federal civil cause of action for owners whose pets suffer harm, neglect, or death while in the custody of covered commercial pet-care businesses, including boarding facilities and groomers. <\/p>\n

Owners could seek damages that include veterinary expenses, emotional distress and get help with attorney\u2019s fees and court costs. <\/p>\n

\u201cWhether it’s a family losing a beloved pet at a boarding facility or the horrifying allegations coming out of Humboldt County, the message is the same: caring for animals comes with a responsibility,\u201d Gallagher said in a statement. \u201cOur pets aren’t just property. They’re family. When that trust is violated, families deserve a real path to justice.\u201d<\/p>\n

See more coverage of top California stories here<\/a> | Download our app<\/a> | Subscribe to our morning newsletter<\/a> | Find us on YouTube here and subscribe to our channel<\/a>. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Northern California Congressman James Gallagher has introduced legislation aiming to bring more accountability to pet-care facilities when dogs…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":508849,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[196340,47231,196335,196336,7,9,8,196339,173579,7289,173352,196334,118714,141238,196337,3154,31909,3001,136318,159770,7648,196338,196333,196341,16383],"class_list":["post-508848","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-california","tag-animal-harm","tag-animal-neglect","tag-animal-welfare-act","tag-boarding-facility","tag-california","tag-california-headlines","tag-california-news","tag-civil-cause","tag-companion-animals","tag-congressman","tag-dead-dogs","tag-dunkins-law","tag-emotional-distress","tag-fortuna","tag-groomers","tag-humboldt-county","tag-james-gallagher","tag-legislation","tag-mirandas-rescue","tag-pet-care","tag-rescue","tag-sentient-beings","tag-stockton-animal-services","tag-veterinary-expenses","tag-yuba-city"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/508848","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=508848"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/508848\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/508849"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=508848"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=508848"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=508848"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}