Sick puppies spur N.Y. law regulating pet rescue groups

Kozmon is among the animal lovers who pushed for a new law to provide state oversight of nonprofit pet adoption groups. It cracks down on everything from shoddy health and record-keeping to unscrupulous pet dealers rebranding themselves as nonprofit “rescues” and peddling puppies from the same puppy mills adopters seek to avoid. The law, signed by Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo this month, puts nonprofit shelters and rescues under the same state Agriculture and Markets regulations that cover licensed pet dealers and municipal shelters.“You have up to 500 nonprofit entities under no regulation whatsoever,” said Bill Ketzer, a regional official with the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.The new law requires the organizations to register with the agriculture agency, follow state documentation and vaccination requirements and disclose the number of animals transported annually. It also gives the agency the authority to craft additional regulations.