(A) No owner, manager, or employee of a pet store shall negligently display, offer for sale, deliver, barter, auction, broker, give away, transfer, or sell any live dog from a pet store to a person unless the dog was obtained from one of the following sources:

Terms Used In Ohio Code 956.20

  • Accredited veterinarian: means a veterinarian accredited by the United States department of agriculture. See Ohio Code 956.01
  • agriculture: includes farming; ranching; aquaculture; algaculture meaning the farming of algae; apiculture and related apicultural activities, production of honey, beeswax, honeycomb, and other related products; horticulture; viticulture, winemaking, and related activities; animal husbandry, including, but not limited to, the care and raising of livestock, equine, and fur-bearing animals; poultry husbandry and the production of poultry and poultry products; dairy production; the production of field crops, tobacco, fruits, vegetables, nursery stock, ornamental shrubs, ornamental trees, flowers, sod, or mushrooms; timber; pasturage; any combination of the foregoing; the processing, drying, storage, and marketing of agricultural products when those activities are conducted in conjunction with, but are secondary to, such husbandry or production; and any additions or modifications to the foregoing made by the director of agriculture by rule adopted in accordance with Chapter 119 of the Revised Code. See Ohio Code 1.61
  • Animal rescue for dogs: includes an individual or organization that offers spayed or neutered dogs for adoption and charges reasonable adoption fees to cover the costs of the individual or organization, including, but not limited to, costs related to spaying or neutering dogs. See Ohio Code 956.01
  • Animal shelter for dogs: means a facility that keeps, houses, and maintains dogs such as a dog pound operated by a municipal corporation, or by a county under Chapter 955 of the Revised Code, or that is operated by a humane society, animal welfare society, society for the prevention of cruelty to animals, or other nonprofit organization that is devoted to the welfare, protection, and humane treatment of dogs and other animals. See Ohio Code 956.01
  • Dog broker: means a person who buys, sells, or offers to sell dogs at wholesale for resale to another or who sells or gives one or more dogs to a pet store annually. See Ohio Code 956.01
  • Humane society: means an organization that is organized under section 1717. See Ohio Code 956.01
  • Person: includes an individual, corporation, business trust, estate, trust, partnership, and association. See Ohio Code 1.59
  • Pet store: means an individual retail store to which both of the following apply: the store sells forty or more puppies or adult dogs in any calendar year to the public; and with regard to the sale of a dog from the store, the sales person, the buyer of a dog, and the dog for sale are physically present during the sales transaction so that the buyer may personally observe the dog and help ensure its health prior to taking custody. See Ohio Code 956.01
  • United States: includes all the states. See Ohio Code 1.59
  • Veterinarian: means either a veterinarian licensed in this state under Chapter 4741 of the Revised Code or a veterinarian licensed out of this state by an applicable state entity. See Ohio Code 956.01

(1) An animal rescue for dogs;

(2) An animal shelter for dogs;

(3) A humane society;

(4) A dog broker, provided that, if the dog broker originally obtained the dog from a breeder, the breeder is a qualified breeder;

(5) A qualified breeder.

(B) No owner, manager, or employee of a pet store shall negligently sell, deliver, barter, auction, broker, give away, or transfer any of the following:

(1) A dog that is less than eight weeks old;

(2) A dog without a health certificate signed by an accredited veterinarian;

(3) A dog that does not have a permanent implanted identification microchip that is approved for use by the director of agriculture under rules adopted under section 956.03 of the Revised Code;

(4) A dog to a person who is younger than eighteen years of age as verified by valid photo identification;

(5) A dog acquired from a qualified breeder or a dog broker unless the owner, manager, or employee provides to the person acquiring the dog, at a time prior to the transaction for the acquisition of the dog, a written certification that includes all of the following information:

(a) The name of the breeder that bred the dog;

(b) The address, if available, of the breeder that bred the dog;

(c) The United States department of agriculture license number of the breeder that bred the dog, if applicable, and a copy of the most current United States department of agriculture inspection report for the breeder;

(d) The dog’s birth date, if known;

(e) The date that the pet store took possession of the dog;

(f) The breed, gender, color, and any identifying marks of the dog;

(g) A document signed by an accredited veterinarian that describes any known disease, illness, or congenital or hereditary condition that adversely affects the health of the dog at the time of examination;

(h) A document signed by the owner, manager, or employee of the pet store certifying that all information required to be provided to the person acquiring the dog under division (B)(5) of this section is accurate. A pet store shall keep a copy of the certification for a period of at least two years from the date of the acquisition. The owner, manager, or an employee of the pet store shall make the copy of the certification available for inspection or duplication by the department of agriculture.

(6) A dog acquired from a qualified breeder or a dog broker unless all of the following information regarding the dog is available to the general public at the pet store:

(a) The name of the breeder that bred the dog;

(b) The address, if available, of the breeder that bred the dog;

(c) The United States department of agriculture license number of the breeder that bred the dog, if applicable;

(d) The dog’s birth date, if known;

(e) The breed of the dog.

(C) No owner, manager, or employee of a pet store shall recklessly alter or provide false information on a certification provided in accordance with division (B)(5) of this section.

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