Prohibition against making a false representation of ownership of an animal to a public or private animal shelter; penalty
Va. Code Ann. § 18.2-144.2
in effectA. It shall be unlawful for any person to deliver or release any animal not owned by that person to a public or private animal shelter or humane society, as these terms are defined in § 3.2-6500 , or to any other similar facility for animals, or any agent thereof, and to falsely represent to such facility or agent that such person is the owner of the animal.
B. A violation of subsection A is a Class 1 misdemeanor.
C. No public or private animal shelter, humane society or other similar facility for animals, or the directors or employees of any such business or facility, shall, in the absence of gross negligence, be civilly liable for accepting and disposing of any animal in good faith from a person who falsely claims to be the owner of the animal.
1994, c. 885 ; 2014, c. 148 .
Source: Open US Law by Vaquill AI (CC BY 4.0)URL: https://law.lis.virginia.gov/vacode/18.2-144.2/Fetched: 10/16/2026