Civil law: search and rescue dogs.

Existing law provides that a peace officer or firefighter assigned to a canine unit, who is assigned to duty away from his or her home jurisdiction because of a declared federal, state, or local emergency, and in the course and scope of his or her official duties, may not be discriminated against in hotels, lodging establishments, eating establishments, or public transportation by being required to pay an extra charge or security deposit for the peace officer's or firefighter's dog. Existing law provides a civil fine for the violation of those rights. This bill would also prohibit that discrimination against the handler of a search and rescue dog, as defined. The bill would also prohibit those entities from denying service to the peace officer, firefighter, or handler based on the presence of the dog. The bill would also expand the circumstances to include when the peace officer, firefighter, or handler is away from his or her home jurisdiction because of an official mutual aid request or training. Existing law provides that the peace officer's law enforcement agency or the firefighter's fire agency is liable for any damages to the premises or facilities caused by the peace officer's or firefighter's dog. The bill would require the handler to be liable for any damages to the premises or facilities caused by the search and rescue dog. The bill would state that nothing in the above-described provisions is intended to prevent the removal of the search and rescue dog in the event the search and rescue dog creates an excessive disturbance to the quiet enjoyment of the property, provided that the peace officer, firefighter, or handler of the search and rescue dog is given at least one warning notice of the excessive disturbance and an opportunity to correct the disturbance.