Dogs and Cats; abandoning dogs or cats prohibited; criminal penalty for violations

HB 177 prohibits abandoning dogs or cats in Alabama by defining abandonment as leaving a pet without minimum reasonable care. It creates a new criminal offense (a Class C misdemeanor) for intentionally or recklessly abandoning a dog or cat, with penalties for violations. The bill updates existing animal cruelty laws to explicitly include abandonment as a punishable act and clarifies enforcement procedures for law enforcement. This law directly affects pet owners who abandon animals, effective October 1, 2026.