Michigan residents may soon have protection from prosecution if they smash a car window to save a dog.
State Rep. Beau LaFave, R-Iron Mountain, drafted legislation that will protect people from lawsuits or criminal prosecution if they break a window to get a dog out of a hot car. LaFave says good dog owners sometimes make mistakes.
“We can deal with the broken window later. It sucks. I gotta get my window fixed. But you saved my dog,” says LaFave.
It’s already legal to smash a car window or break just about any law to save a baby, according to LaFave. But the new bill would also apply to dogs.
The bill would provide protection against criminal prosecution and lawsuits if a bystander were to break a car window to rescue a dog. LaFave hopes to get the bill through before the end of the year, but he said that’s a “long shot” with the timing.
LaFave has also written separate legislation to prevent cities from banning specific breeds of dogs.
