Ollie, a labradoodle, died when he was 9 months old, two months after being mauled at a pet care facility in Massachusetts. He was the inspiration for “Ollie’s Law,” a new state statute designed to protect pets in kennels. Business owners worry the regulations may be too expensive. (Courtesy of Amy Baxter)
The death of Ollie, a 9-month-old labradoodle mauled at a Massachusetts pet care facility in 2020, led the state this October to enact the stringent “Ollie’s Law,” tightening regulations on the care and housing of pets at boarding and training kennels.
The new Massachusetts law mandates the timely reporting of such incidents to local authorities. It also empowers state regulators to come up with new rules that may require that dogs be housed with similarly sized animals and not be left without human supervision, as Ollie was, according to his owner.
A few other states — including Colorado and Iowa — have regulations in place, but most states rely on local rules or have no regulations at all for pet care facilities, according to Jeremy Cohen, an attorney who founded Boston Dog Lawyers.