Boston - On October 10, 2024, Governor Maura Healey and Lieutenant Governor Kim Driscoll joined state legislators and animal advocates to ceremonially sign H4919, An Act to increase kennel safety AKA Ollie’s Law. This legislation updates licensure and regulation of kennels and other pet boarding facilities to keep animals in their care safe.

The law was inspired by the story of Ollie and his mom Amy Baxter. In 2020, Amy received the horrifying news that her beloved seven-month-old Labradoodle, Ollie, had been injured in a dog fight while staying at a doggy daycare. He was seriously wounded, required around-the-clock care and surgery and had to remain in the hospital. Tragically, Ollie succumbed to his injuries and passed away two months later.

“No pet owner wants to receive the call that their beloved pet has been injured while staying at a kennel. Ollie’s death was preventable - and I’m inspired by the perseverance of Amy Baxter and other pet owners who have taken a stand to prevent this from happening to more pets,” said Governor Healey. “Here in Massachusetts, we pride ourselves on being a leader in animal protection, but we had been falling behind when it comes to kennel oversight. I’m proud to have signed this bill into law to improve regulation and licensure requirements at boarding and daycare facilities to keep our furry friends safe.”

"For far too long, Massachusetts lacked oversight of our animal daycare facilities, and our pets paid the cost for that inaction,” said Lieutenant Governor Kim Driscoll. “Now, pet facilities across Massachusetts will begin adhering to a higher standard to make sure our pets are properly cared for and come home happy and healthy to their families.”

“Ollie was a beautiful and innocent puppy whose life was tragically cut short due to the negligent actions of an unlicensed doggy daycare facility, said, Amy Baxter, owner of Ollie. “Ollie’s Law is the culmination of nearly four years of work to craft meaningful and impactful regulation of the kennel industry so that no animal, and no family, ever have to suffer like Ollie and our family did after this devastating and preventable tragedy. As we approach the fourth anniversary of his death, my daughter and I continue to mourn Ollie. Nothing will mitigate the pain and suffering he endured, but with this law, Ollie will leave a legacy of healing by helping and protecting other animals.”

“From a heartbreaking tragedy, we’ve learned a valuable lesson about the importance of ensuring the safety of our beloved pets in animal daycare facilities,” said MDAR Commissioner Randle. “Our administration is taking the lead in preventing senseless losses like this in the future. By strengthening the licensure and regulation of kennels, we can provide peace of mind to pet owners, that they will reunite with their furry friends.”  

The law seeks to improve animal safety across the state by updating the licensure scheme for kennels, as Massachusetts previously had no state oversight of daycare and boarding facilities. It requires all kennels to be licensed and all dogs to be individually licensed. It also requires municipalities to establish a limit to the number of animals that can be housed by a kennel based on accommodations and available staff.

The law also requires cities and towns to issue every type of kennel license defined in current law and require all kennels to obtain a license to operate. Municipalities will be tasked with ensuring enforcement of the law. Boarding and training kennels will have to report to municipal licensing authorities all injuries to people or animals. MDAR, which was involved in the drafting of this legislation, will be required to adopt detailed operational and safety regulations with assistance from an advisory committee. 

Statements of Support:

Senate President Karen Spilka (D-Ashland):

“Our pets are always there for us when we need them. With the Governor’s signature, we are ensuring that we are there for them, and making sure animal daycare facilities statewide are keeping pets safe and healthy. I’m thankful to Governor Healey, Senator Oliveira and Senator Montigny for their leadership, and our colleagues in the House for their collaboration to make sure we got this over the finish line.”

House Speaker Ronald J. Mariano (D-Quincy):

“Massachusetts residents should have complete confidence that their pet will be safe at a kennel when they go away. I want to thank Governor Healey for signing these protections into law, as well as my colleagues in the House and our partners in the Senate for ensuring these facilities have the highest standards of safety and care.”

Senator Mark Montigny?(D-New Bedford):

"Pets are family who provide boundless love and affection that we are lucky to receive. For this reason, it is critical that we ensure all businesses entrusted with the care of our family adhere to proper health and safety protocols no matter what town they operate in across the Commonwealth.? Too often, we have heard devastating stories of pets like?Ollie?who have been injured or killed due to negligent care.? These people have no place caring for such precious creatures and it's time that we implement consistent standards across Massachusetts.”

Senator Jake Oliveira (D-Ludlow):

“This new law brings crucial oversight to dog daycares and kennels across Massachusetts, ensuring our beloved pets are safe and well-cared for when we can’t be with them. Inspired by the heartbreaking loss of Ollie, a six-month-old labradoodle from Longmeadow, this law established vital safeguards like staff-to-animal ratios, emergency protocols, and reporting requirements. Thanks to the years of dedicated advocacy by Ollie’s family and supporters, Massachusetts now has stronger protection for pets”

Representative Brian Ashe (D- Longmeadow):

“I am very proud of this legislation as it has been years of meetings, amendments, and compromise. It is bittersweet as the tragic passing of 7-month-old Labradoodle Ollie made us painfully aware of the lack of safety regulations in dog day care facilities. I am indebted to Amy Baxter, Ollie’s Mom/owner, for not only bringing the need for regulations to my attention, but also talking publicly about Ollie’s tragedy over and over again. The coordination of the Coalition members made up of Amy Baxter, Jeni Mather of JM Pet Resorts, Ally Blanck from the ARL, Kara Holmquist of the MSPCA, Jeremy Cohen from Boston Dog Lawyers, and Ryan McCollum of RMC Strategies, resulted in commonsense legislation that will implement needed changes and help to prevent future tragedies like Ollies from occurring again. I am also grateful for Chair Fiola’s passion of animal welfare and for keeping this bill as one of her priorities and to Senator Olivera for his support and leadership in the Senate. Last, but certainly not least, I am grateful to Governor Healey, Speaker Mariano, and Chair Michlewitz for supporting this bill and allowing me the opportunity to pass this legislation which means a great deal to me personally and professionally.”

Representative Carole Fiola (D-Fall River):

“It was an honor to bring parties together to achieve a bill that will ultimately provide safeguards for our beloved canine family members when we entrust them to the ever popular and currently self-regulated “doggy daycares”. Thanks to “Ollie’s” family and all involved.”

Representative Danielle Gregoire (D-Marlborough):

“I am grateful to my colleague, Chair Fiola, for ensuring the concerns of the MA American Kennel Club members were addressed when crafting this legislation.  Her in depth work on this comprehensive legislation ensured that not only are we protect pets across Massachusetts, but that unexpected stakeholders had a seat at the table as well.”

Kara Holmquist, Director of Advocacy, Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals:

“We are grateful to the Governor and legislature for taking action to ensure that dogs and kennel staff have protections to keep them safe. While the laws protecting animals in Massachusetts are generally strong, our work at the MSPCA-Angell provides us with firsthand views on the gaps that still exist. With Ollie’s Law, we close one such gap by ensuring that dog daycares and boarding kennels have standards and that consumers have information to make informed decisions before using those services.”

Dr. Edward Schettino, President & CEO, American Rescue League:

“The Animal Rescue League of Boston (ARL)is immensely thankful to the Governor for her signature on Ollie’s Law. Through the dedication of animal advocates and the support of the legislature, including bill sponsors Representative Brian Ashe and Senator Mark Montigny, Ollie’s Law creates a path to reasonable regulation to protect pets in daycare and boarding facilities across Massachusetts. At ARL we believe pets are family and we grateful that more pets and pet parents will benefit from this important law.”

Jamie Falzone, Executive Director, Massachusetts Veterinary Medical Association:

“On behalf of our nearly 1,700 members and the veterinary profession here in Massachusetts, the MVMA is grateful to the Legislature for passing Ollie’s Law. We are proud to have supported this legislation and are thrilled that consumers, employees, and - most importantly - our beloved pets will be further protected in the Commonwealth.”