Final signature count: 32,794

32,794 signatures toward our 50,000 goal

When it comes to quality of life and protecting it, the governor of your state should be leading the way.

Texas Governor Greg Abbott is taking a different approach, one that doesn’t seem to consider our furry friends as worth protecting. By vetoing Senate Bill 474, the Safe Outdoor Dogs Act, Abbott has put countless pets at risk, and hurt Texas’ reputation as a pet loving state1.

In the Houston area, at least two dogs died from heat distress in a single week, according to the Houston SPCA. The dogs were left outside& in miserable heat with no access to water, food or shelter2.

Under the Safe Outdoor Dogs Act, the owners of these dogs would have been charged with misdemeanors, potentially facing steep fines, punishments Abbott considers a form of “micro-managing” and “over-criminalization3.”

Shelby Bobosky, executive director of Texas Humane Legislation Network, a nonprofit that lobbies in support of animal rights, said the bill would have “clarified the vague language that makes the statute completely unenforceable4.”

“All the elements Governor Abbott cited as ‘micromanagement’ were carefully negotiated compromises that addressed concerns from lawmakers in both parties to strike the right balance for our diverse state,” Bobosky said in a statement. “The passage of the bill in both chambers with overwhelming bipartisan support from rural, urban, and suburban members was the result of six years of tireless effort by THLN and all stakeholders who care for dogs inhumanely restrained outdoors.”

Animals have a right to live without fear of dying from thirst, heat or hunger. It’s time the governor of Texas recognize these rights. Sign the petition below and demand Gov. Greg Abbot rescind his veto of the Safe Outdoor Dogs Act.