Amends TCA Title 44; Title 63, Chapter 12 and Title 68.

Present law authorizes the agents of any society incorporated for the prevention of cruelty to animals to lawfully destroy, or cause to be destroyed, any animal found abandoned or otherwise after a holding period of not less than 72 hours and after having made a reasonable effort to locate and notify the owners, for the purpose of animal population control. If the animal bears any notification information on an identification tag or collar, or on a chip, if the agent or officer of the society has the use of a chip reader, the reasonable effort to locate and notify the animal's owners must be made within 48 hours of the time that the society takes custody of the animal or, if the animal is taken into custody on a Friday, within two business days of the date that the society takes custody of the animal. Under this bill, if an animal control agency takes possession of an animal due to the death of the animal's owner, the owner's relative must retrieve the animal from the animal control agency within seven days of the owner's death or the animal control agency will be required to treat the animal as an abandoned animal.