Governor Pritzker signed a new law to the Animal Welfare Act a couple of weeks ago regarding kennel safety. Rest assured we have been in compliance with this law since day one so your pups are safe with us!
The law requires that a kennel such as ours must have a fire alarm or sprinkler systems in place. If a building does not have this then it must be staffed anytime animals are in the facility. Here is an excerpt from the Animal Welfare Act that addresses it:
(b) A kennel operator that maintains dogs or cats for boarding and that is not staffed at all times dogs or cats are on the premises shall be equipped with at least one fire alarm system or fire sprinkler system in operating condition in every building of the kennel operator that is used for the housing of animals. The kennel operator shall certify in its license application and annually certify in its license renewal that either: (1) its facility has a fire alarm system or a fire sprinkler system, and shall include with the application or license renewal an attached description and picture of the make and model of the system used; or (2) the kennel is staffed at all times dogs or cats are on the premises, and shall include with the application or license renewal an attached staffing plan. The Department shall include this certification on each application for a license or license renewal.
Bark Avenue’s building is protected by a security system, fire alarms, and sprinklers. Should the building be compromised in any way the alarms will trigger and not only the owner but the appropriate first responders (police, fire, etc.) are immediately notified of the trouble. Our systems must pass a fire inspection once a year as well as a minimum of once a year by the department of agriculture.
You can read the complete amendment by following this link: http://www.ilga.gov/legislation/publicacts/fulltext.asp…
