I. No dog, cat, or ferret shall be offered for sale or resale by a licensee without first being protected against infectious diseases using a vaccine approved by the state veterinarian and unless accompanied by an official health certificate issued by a licensed veterinarian within 14 days of sale. Said certificate shall be in triplicate, one copy of which shall be sent to the state veterinarian, one copy of which shall be for the licensee's records, and one copy of which shall be given to the purchaser upon resale as provided in paragraph II.
II. The original of the official health certificate accompanying the dog, cat, or ferret offered for sale or resale by a licensee shall be kept on the premises where dogs, cats, and ferrets are displayed, and made available for inspection upon request. The public will be informed of their right to inspect the health certificate for each dog, cat, or ferret by a sign prominently displayed in the area where the dogs, cats, or ferrets are displayed. Upon sale of the dog, cat, or ferret, this health certificate shall be updated by the licensee if any other medication or treatment has been given by a licensed veterinarian or the licensee to the dog, cat, or ferret and shall be given to the purchaser in addition to any other documents which are customarily delivered to the purchaser.
III. Animal shelter facilities, as defined in RSA 437:2, I, are exempt from the requirements of this subdivision relative to accepting, selling, or transferring dogs, cats, and ferrets except that:
(a) All animal shelter facilities shall have on premises a microchip scanner and shall maintain a file of recognized pet retrieval agencies including but not limited to national tattoo or microchip registries.
(b) Where an owner is not known, all animal shelter facilities shall inspect for tattoos, ear tags, or other permanent forms of positive identification and shall scan for a microchip upon admission of an unclaimed or abandoned animal as defined in RSA 437:18, IV and prior to transferring ownership of an unclaimed or abandoned animal.
(c) All animal shelters shall comply with the provisions of RSA 437:13-a, IV.
IV. No person, firm or corporation shall ship or bring into the state of New
Hampshire, to offer for sale or resale in the state of New Hampshire, any cat,
dog, or ferret less than 8 weeks of age. No licensee shall offer for sale or
resale any cat, dog, or ferret less than 8 weeks of age.
V. All dogs, cats, and ferrets received for resale shall be held 48 hours separated from other animals on the premises before being offered for sale.
Source. 1985, 72:1. 1995, 202:13, eff. June 12, 1995. 1998, 368:3, eff. Aug. 25, 1998. Effective May 24, 2002 Ferrets added to para IV.
In addition to the penalty specified in RSA 437:9, any person, firm or corporation may have the license for a pet shop suspended or revoked by the commissioner of agriculture, markets, and food for violation of this subdivision.
Source. 1985, 72:1. 1995, 130:5, eff. July 23, 1995; 202:14, eff. June 12, 1995.
No license shall be suspended or revoked until a hearing is held before the commissioner of agriculture, markets, and food. Written notice of such a hearing shall be given to the licensee at least 10 days before said hearing. The notice shall be by certified mail and shall state the date, time and place of hearing and set forth the charges against the licensee. Decisions of the commissioner shall be subject to rehearing and appeal in the manner prescribed by RSA 541.
Source. 1985, 72:1. 1995, 130:5, eff. July 23, 1995.
Within 14 days of sale, the purchaser of a dog, cat, or ferret from a licensee may have the dog, cat, or ferret examined by a licensed veterinarian selected by the purchaser and, unless said examination indicates the dog, cat, or ferret to be free of disease, the purchaser shall be entitled to substitution or, at the purchaser's option, a full refund of the purchase price of the dog, cat, or ferret upon return of the dog, cat, or ferret to the licensee within 2 business days of said examination, accompanied by the veterinarian's certificate.
Source. 1985, 72:1. 1995, 202:15, eff. June 12, 1995.
