{"data":{"id":"us-mi/mich.-comp.-laws-750.50c","jurisdiction":"us-mi","citation":"Mich. Comp. Laws § 750.50c","heading":"Police dog or police horse; definitions; violation as felony or misdemeanor; penalty; other violations.","body":"Sec. 50c.\n\n(1) As used in this section:\n\n(a) \"Dog handler\" means a peace officer who has successfully completed training in the handling of a police dog pursuant to a policy of the law enforcement agency that employs that peace officer.\n\n(b) \"Physical harm\" means any injury to a dog's or horse's physical condition.\n\n(c) \"Police dog\" means a dog used by a law enforcement agency of this state or of a local unit of government of this state that is trained for law enforcement work and subject to the control of a dog handler.\n\n(d) \"Police horse\" means a horse used by a law enforcement agency of this state or of a local unit of government of this state for law enforcement work.\n\n(e) \"Search and rescue dog\" means a dog that is trained for, being trained for, or engaged in a search and rescue operation.\n\n(f) \"Search and rescue operation\" means an effort conducted at the direction of an agency of this state or of a political subdivision of this state to locate or rescue a lost, injured, or deceased individual.\n\n(g) \"Serious physical harm\" means any injury to a dog's or horse's physical condition or welfare that is not necessarily permanent but that constitutes substantial body disfigurement, or that seriously impairs the function of a body organ or limb.\n\n(2) A person shall not intentionally kill or cause serious physical harm to a police dog or police horse or a search and rescue dog.\n\n(3) A person shall not intentionally cause physical harm to a police dog or police horse or a search and rescue dog.\n\n(4) A person shall not intentionally harass or interfere with a police dog or police horse or search and rescue dog lawfully performing its duties.\n\n(5) A person who violates subsection (2) is guilty of a felony punishable by imprisonment for not more than 5 years or a fine of not more than $10,000.00, or both.\n\n(6) Except as provided in subsection (7), a person who violates subsection (3) or (4) is guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment for not more than 1 year or a fine of not more than $5,000.00, or both.\n\n(7) A person who violates subsection (3) or (4) while committing a crime is guilty of a felony punishable by imprisonment for not more than 2 years or a fine of not more than $15,000.00, or both.\n\n(8) This section does not prohibit an individual from being charged with, convicted of, or punished for any other violation of law committed by that individual while violating this section.","path":["MI Code","Chapter 750","Act Act-328-of-1931"],"source_url":"https://www.legislature.mi.gov/Laws/MCL?objectName=mcl-750-50c","current_through":"2026-08-14","vintage":"open-us-law v2026.08, retrieved 2026-09-14","retrieved_at":"2026-09-14T18:32:31Z","sha256":"5fa1cea2485f4ab282067f5aa93695a174a8dd7bbe6f036c1d2201e548c316d4","source_id":"us-mi","stale":false,"prev":"us-mi/mich.-comp.-laws-750.50b","next":"us-mi/mich.-comp.-laws-750.51"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}