AN ACT CONCERNING POLICE ANIMALS AND DOGS.

HB 5375 increases penalties for intentionally harming police dogs during volunteer search/rescue operations and adds penalties for harassing police dogs confined in vehicles. It also allows emergency medical personnel to treat and transport injured police dogs under specific circumstances and creates a grant program to provide canine officers with body armor. The bill directly affects police departments (through new grant access) and the public (by establishing clearer penalties for harming police dogs). It focuses on concrete safety measures for law enforcement canines without altering broader policy.