§ 429 — Veterinary care

§ 429. Veterinary care. 1. Prescription medications and treatments\nshall be administered by each animal shelter under the advisement of or\nin accordance with written protocols provided by a duly licensed\nveterinarian.\n 2. All drugs shall be documented and dispensed by each animal shelter\nin accordance with applicable local, state, and federal laws and\nregulations.\n 3. All incoming animals shall be assessed within two hours after\nintake by a trained animal shelter staff member to determine if any\nphysical abnormalities exist that require immediate veterinary attention\nin accordance with the shelter's written protocol for emergency care, as\nrequired by section four hundred twenty-three of this article.\n 4. Each animal shelter shall have the ability to provide for\nveterinary assessment and humane care in a timely fashion through\nin-house facilities or at an off-site location.\n 5. Pursuant to the written protocol for emergency veterinary care\nrequired by section four hundred twenty-three of this article, each\nanimal shelter shall provide appropriate and timely veterinary care for\nany animal that is in distress, experiencing pain, or showing signs of\nsignificant illness or injury.\n 6. Each animal shelter shall recognize and treat acute and chronic\npain appropriately, as set forth in article twenty-six of this chapter.\nThe legal status regarding the ownership of any animal shall not prevent\ntreatment to relieve suffering.\n 7. Each animal shelter shall provide a complete physical examination\nof all animals in its custody or possession by trained shelter staff\nwithin twenty-four hours of intake to identify medical or behavioral\nconditions that require further evaluation and care. Animals shall\nspecifically be examined for bite wounds; animals that have potentially\nbeen exposed to rabies shall be managed in accordance with applicable\nlocal and state laws. Each animal shelter shall comply with the rabies\nreporting requirements prescribed in 10 NYCRR 2.14.\n 8. Each animal shelter shall vaccinate each animal in its custody or\npossession with core vaccines as recommended by national standards and\nguidelines specific to animal shelters as established, endorsed or\napproved by the American Association of Feline Practitioners (AAFP),\nAmerican Animal Hospital Association (AAHA), or the Association of\nShelter Veterinarians (ASV).\n 9. Each animal shelter shall provide all dogs, cats, and ferrets in\nits custody or possession with a rabies vaccination prior to release in\naccordance with local public health laws. Each animal shelter shall be\nin compliance at all times with section one hundred nine of this chapter\nand title four of article twenty-one of the public health law.\n 10. At a minimum, each animal shelter shall treat all animals in its\ncustody or possession for hookworms and roundworms prior to release\nand/or placement in foster care.\n 11. When a physical or behavioral abnormality is identified at the\ntime of intake or at any time during any animal's shelter stay, staff\nmembers shall follow written medical protocols required by section four\nhundred twenty-three of this article, to determine if and when any\nanimal in its custody or possession needs to be examined by a duly\nlicensed veterinarian. If the animal is in foster care, the foster care\nprovider shall follow written medical protocols to determine whether the\nanimal needs to be examined by a duly licensed veterinarian.\n 12. Any animal in the custody or possession of any animal shelter for\nmore than thirty days shall be examined and weighed at least monthly by\na trained staff member. Animals in foster care shall be examined and\nweighed at least once every six months by a trained staff member.\n 13. Any apparently healthy animal remaining within the custody or\npossession of any animal shelter shall be examined by a duly licensed\nveterinarian at least every six months, or more frequently if problems\nare identified.\n 14. Each animal shelter shall provide regular grooming to prevent\ndiscomfort or injury to each animal in its custody or possession.\nMatted, soiled, or otherwise unkempt animals shall be provided with\ntimely grooming to alleviate discomfort and prevent injury within\nforty-eight hours of intake or identification of condition. Severe\nmatting that prevents normal movement, an animal's ability to eat,\ndrink, urinate, or defecate, or that compromises tissue health shall be\ntreated as a medical emergency requiring immediate care.\n 15. (a) No animal shelter shall release any dog or cat for adoption to\nany person unless the dog or cat has been spayed or neutered, in\naccordance with section three hundred seventy-seven-a of this chapter.\n (b) Prior to performing spay/neuter surgery at any animal shelter:\n (i) All animals in such shelter's custody or possession shall receive\nan examination by a duly licensed veterinarian within twenty-four hours\nof surgery and anesthesia. Such examination may be performed under\nsedation or anesthesia if, due to the animal's behavior, an examination\nis not possible while awake.\n (ii) Balanced anesthetic protocols that include sedation, the\nprovision of pre- and post-operative analgesia, stress reduction, muscle\nrelaxation and controlled, reversible loss of consciousness shall be\nutilized for all animals.\n (iii) While surgery is being performed, the operating area shall be\ndedicated to surgery and contain the necessary equipment for anesthesia\nand patient monitoring.\n (iv) Aseptic surgical technique shall be required, and separate\nsterile instruments shall be used for each patient. All instruments and\nequipment shall be maintained in proper working condition.\n (v) A permanent tattoo shall be placed on the ventral abdomen of\nshelter-owned cats and dogs at the time of spay or neuter.\n (vi) Each animal shelter shall provide adoptive owners instructions in\nboth written and verbal forms for ten-day post-operative care of\nrecently spayed or neutered animals.\n (c) Written protocols required by section four hundred twenty-three of\nthis chapter, shall be followed to handle related post-operative\nemergencies.\n