Assemblyman Kevin Byrne and his wife Briana with their adopted Treeing Walker Coonhound, Tracker.

Today, Assemblyman Kevin Byrne (R,C,I,Ref-Mahopac) announced that he joined as a sponsor of “Kirby & Quigley’s Law” (S.1680/A.3038). The proposed legislation was named after two Montgomery County dogs that were killed during a burglary on February 17, 2016. It would expand Buster’s Law and make it a felony offense to harm a companion animal during the commission of another felony. Kirby & Quigley’s law would be punishable by two years in jail and a $5,000 fine.

“You’ll rarely find me or my wife Bri without Tracker, our adopted Treeing Walker Coonhound. If anything ever happened to him, we’d be devastated. This is about doing the right thing, and making sure those perpetrators who commit evil acts against our companion animals are held accountable,” said Byrne.

Kirby and Quigley’s family, the Krohns, have been instrumental in getting the legislation passed in the Senate this year. Sen. Jim Tedisco (R,C,I,Ref- Glenville) and Assemblyman Angelo Santabarbara (D-Amsterdam) introduced this legislation in January of 2017. Assemblyman Byrne joined as a co-sponsor shortly thereafter.