Callie inspired Dexter's Law

A bill introduced by Florida Senator Mike Fasano proposed to have all persons convicted of an animal abuse offense register with the state animal abuse registry, which would be available for public inquiry on the Internet. This bill would come into effect October 1, 2012. On a related note, Senator Fasano also introduced the Domestic Violence Against Family Pets bill on the same day.

The bill would ensure that a person convicted of an animal abuse offense would be registered with the animal abuse registry, and that each person would have to update his or her registration information annually. This would mean that each time he or she moves from one residential address to another, the registry would have a record. Each person would also have to pay a fee annually, which would be used to pay for the administrtive costs of maintaining the registry. Anyone who fails to pay the annual administrative fee, fails to register or fails to update critical information would then face a new charge and face new penalties.

Inspired by his rescue dog "Callie" and an abused kitten named "Dexter", Senator Fasano has proposed that the act be cited as "Dexter's Law". Dexter, along with his brother Drake, was brutally beaten in a Brooksville park last year. Dexter appeared to beat the odds and recover while in the care or PetLuv Clinic and his adopter Tiffany Sroka, but debilitating seizures returned after he appeared to have recovered. Ultimately, Dexter had to be euthanized by those who loved and cared for him. The court case against accused killer Wilana Frazier continues on through a series of court hearings.

Read Senator Fasano's SB 618: Animal Abuse Registry bill here: http://www.flsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2012/0618/BillText/Filed/HTML

• animal abuse
• animal abuse registry
• Florida
• Mike Fasano