A Valentine meet and greet benefit with Ethan in 2022 sold out. (Kentucky Humane Society)

Legislators and advocates who pushed for years to make dog and cat torture a felony on first offense gathered in the Capitol Rotunda Tuesday to celebrate a new Kentucky law that does just that.?

House Bill 258, also called Ethan’s Law, allows a person to be charged with a Class D felony the first and every time they torture a dog or cat. It was previously a Class A misdemeanor on first offense and Class D felony after that.?

The law’s namesake, Ethan, won hearts over as he recovered from severe neglect in 2021. During the session, Ethan, primarily a brindle Presa Canario, came several times to Frankfort to testify in favor of it.?

It passed the legislature this year with bipartisan support and Gov Andy Beshear signed it into law in April. It went into effect Monday.?

The new law defines torture as the “intentional infliction of or subjection to extreme physical pain or serious injury or death to a dog or cat, motivated by intent or wanton disregard that causes, increases, or prolongs the pain or suffering of the dog or cat, including serious physical injury or infirmity.”?

Ethan’s owner, Jeff Callaway, has said that after being sold as a puppy, Ethan was traded for drugs and endured a “hellish” chapter of his life that ultimately led to him being abandoned in the Kentucky Humane Society parking lot. Veterinarians nursed him back to health, which included helping him gain around 50 pounds and learn to walk again.

Louisville Republican Susan Witten, who sponsored Ethan’s Law, said Tuesday that it “makes Kentucky a better place to live — not just for dogs and cats that we love but for every community, for every person in our community.”?

That’s because, she and others pointed out, research suggests people who harm animals are more likely to hurt people.?

“It’s unimaginable the pain our furry friends can go through when they’re left helpless (in) restraints,” Secretary of State Michael Adams said. “These animals suffer broken bones, starvation, even impalement.”?

He praised the legislative move to “keep our best friends safe, and punish those who hurt them.”?

A Valentine meet and greet benefit with Ethan in 2022 sold out. (Kentucky Humane Society)

FRANKFORT — In early 2021, Ethan the dog became a Louisville and Kentucky celebrity as the city rallied behind his recovery from horrific neglect.

Ethan’s human, Jeff Callaway, told lawmakers Wednesday that after being sold as a puppy, he was traded for drugs and endured a “hellish” chapter of his life that ultimately led to him being abandoned in the Kentucky Humane Society parking lot.?

Ethan and Callaway were at the Capitol Wednesday to throw their support behind House Bill 258, which would make it a Class D felony to torture a dog or cat. A similar bill passed a few hurdles in the 2023 session but did not make it into law.?

The House Judiciary committee passed the 2024 bill, sponsored by Louisville Republican Susan Witten and a slew of others, 16-1-1. Rep. John Blanton, R-Salyersville, was the only pass vote. Rep. Savannah Maddox, R-Dry Ridge voted no.?

The bill includes definitions of torture, exemptions for certain medical modifications like ear cropping and lays out protections for hunters.?

“Locked up in a cage isn’t enough to be charged with torture,” Witten told her colleagues. “But being intentionally starved, causing serious injury or death, or being locked up and unable to escape does fit the definition.”?

Witten wants the bill to be known as Ethan’s Law in honor of the dog’s remarkable recovery.?

While Witten and Callaway testified, Ethan, primarily a brindle Presa Canario, munched on treats and periodically whimpered as he lay next to the desk where they were seated.

“Ethan was intentionally restrained in a kennel that was way too small for him, too small for him to stand or even move around,” Callaway, a facilities director for Kentucky Humane Society, told lawmakers. Because of the way he was confined, Ethan developed pressure sores to the bone, the scars of which he still bears.?

“He was intentionally deprived of food and water. He suffered from a lack of food for so long that his body began to deteriorate,” Callaway testified. “The loss of his internal body fat was followed by muscle loss and atrophy. His internal organs began to shut down.”?

Ethan, whose breed should weigh about 90 pounds, weighed only 38 when Kentucky Humane Society staff brought him inside from the parking lot, where he had been abandoned.

He was so dehydrated, Callaway said, that veterinarian staff had to use a needle made to fit a baby kitten because his veins were so small.?

“To see him that day was devastating,” Callaway said. “Upon first glance, you would think he was not alive. He was unable to lift his head or move.” Ethan takes seizure medication now, Callaway said, because “intentional starvation and dehydration” led to lesions forming in his brain.?

What was done to Ethan, Callaway said, “is a crime and it needs to be a felony. Someone knew exactly what they were doing, and they just didn’t care. And make no mistake: the person that abused Ethan is abusing somebody else right now to this day. Maybe another dog and maybe another cat. More likely it’s a person — a child, a partner, spouse.”?

Sen. Lindsey Tichenor, R-Smithfield, has filed a related bill that would require animal control officers in Kentucky to learn how to recognize child abuse and neglect — physical, sexual and emotional. That bill has been assigned to the Families and Children Committee.?

“Ethan had to endure every aspect and defining point of this bill,” Callaway told lawmakers. “He’s shown that even through intentional neglect and abuse, love and kindness still win.”?

Cosmo, River and Gambit in training. (KDFWR photo provided by Highland Canine Training, LLC)

Kentucky Fish and Wildlife’s Law Enforcement Division just got some “pawfect” additions.?

Three sibling Labrador retrievers?will be partnered with conservation officers in different Kentucky regions, Fish and Wildlife announced Tuesday.?

The dogs are named Cosmo and River, sisters, and brother Gambit.?

“In researching the various types of dog breeds that we could add to our division, we wanted dogs that would be approachable and can aid officers in their duties,” Col. Eric Gibson, director of the Law Enforcement Division, said in a statement. “We wanted to create a canine program that would provide a positive reflection of the Department’s relationship with the public.”

Cosmo is paired with Conservation Officer Evan Hughes in Region 1 in Western Kentucky. Gambit will serve with Conservation Officer Cody Berry in Region 2 in southcentral Kentucky. River will work with Conservation Officer Glenn Griffie in Region 5 in eastern Kentucky, the department said.?

The four-legged friends will live with the officers and their families “to help them to trust and care for each other,” the department said. They have been trained to “assist in the field with trailing, article location and narcotics detection.”?

Labrador Retrievers are good with children and families, according to the American Kennel Club. They are also “famously friendly” and social animals. A Lab, according to AKC, is an “enthusiastic athlete that requires lots of exercise, like swimming and marathon games of fetch, to keep physically and mentally fit.”