* § 384. Special provisions related to the importation of dogs and
cats into the state for sale, resale or adoption. 1. Any dog or cat
imported into this state for the purposes of sale, resale or adoption
shall be held by the consignee for a period of not less than forty-eight
hours. Such dog or cat shall be vaccinated in accordance with section
twenty-one hundred forty-one of the public health law and part
sixty-five of the commissioner's rules and regulations.

2. If, during the holding period prescribed in subdivision one of this
section, any dog or cat imported into the state for sale, resale or
adoption exhibits signs of infectious, contagious, parasitic or
communicable disease, including but not limited to coughing, sneezing,
vomiting, diarrhea or bloody stool, such dog or cat must be isolated and
examined by a duly licensed attending veterinarian immediately. Any dogs
or cats that have been deemed exposed to such dog or cat must be
quarantined, if necessary, under the direction of such attending
veterinarian and held until such attending veterinarian declares them to
be free of disease.

3. Any dog or cat passing through the state to points beyond, or
brought into the state for temporary residence for purposes of
exhibition, or which enters the state for delivery to research
institutions, for fifteen days or fewer, shall be exempt from the
provisions of this section, provided that such dog or cat is at all
times properly restrained and under the immediate control of the owner
or custodian, and that such dog or cat that is in the state for more
than fifteen days is accompanied with proof of proper immunization
against rabies. It shall be an affirmative defense to the offense of
failure to have accompanied proof of proper immunization against rabies
of such dog or cat, upon the presentation of proof that such dog or cat
had in fact been immunized against rabies at the time of the infraction.

4. Violation of any provision of this section shall be a civil
offense, for which a penalty of not less than one hundred dollars and
not more than one thousand dollars for each violation shall be imposed.
Any person licensed pursuant to article twenty-six-A or twenty-six-C of
this chapter who violates any provision of this section may be subject
to denial, revocation, suspension, or refusal of renewal of his or her
license in accordance with the provisions of section four hundred
twenty-one of this chapter.

* NB Effective December 15, 2025