Libre, the Boston terrier whose plight spurred a key reform measure, joined Gov. Tom Wolf on Tuesday to recognize the improvement in Pennsylvania’s laws against animal cruelty.
Libre was just a few weeks old in July 2016 when he was rescued, severely ill and dehydrated, from a farm in Quarryville in southern Lancaster County.
A few weeks later, state Sen Richard Alloway, R-Franklin, announced plans to introduce “Libre’s Law.” Among other things, it allowed first-time animal cruelty charges to be filed as felonies, rather than misdemeanors. Gov. Wolf signed the bill into law in June 2017 and it took effect that August.
Libre himself is now healthy. He lives at Speranza Animal Rescue in Mechanicsburg, where he serves as the nonprofit’s “ambassador.”
At Tuesday’s media event at the Capitol, Wolf noted Pennsylvania’s dramatically improved standing in the Animal Legal Defense Fund’s ranking of U.S. animal protection laws. The state has climbed from 44th in 2016 to 15th today.
“I’m proud of the bipartisan work that we’ve accomplished during my time in office, in partnership with advocacy groups and Pennsylvania’s animal cruelty ambassador, Libre, on behalf of our pets without a voice,” Wolf said in a statement.
(Editor’s Note: This article was updated to correct the day the event took place.)
