6Albany, NY – A new measure before the New York State Assembly seeks to close a loophole that allows online pet sellers to reclaim animals from owners who fall behind on payments.

Assemblymember Linda B. Rosenthal introduced the bill, Assembly A1672A, to prohibit any purchase or financing contract for a dog or cat from including repossession clauses, expanding protections that already apply to animals sold in brick-and-mortar pet stores.

The legislation builds on a 2018 state law that outlawed the leasing of pets in physical retail settings but did not extend those rules to online sales.

Protecting consumers from pet “lease” schemes

Under the proposed law, online retailers and financing companies would be barred from using lease or installment contracts that treat pets as collateral.

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