AN ACT to provide an exemption to the practice of veterinary medicine for emergency personnel who render emergency medical services to an injured k‑9 police animal or an injured search and rescue DOG at the scene of an emergency.

The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:

SECTION 1.(a)  G.S. 90‑187.10 reads as rewritten:

§ 90‑187.10.  Necessity for license; certain practices exempted.

No individual shall engage in the practice of veterinary medicine without having a veterinary license from the Board. No person, as defined in G.S. 90‑181(5), may own a veterinary facility without having a veterinary facility permit from the Board.

Nothing in this Article shall be construed to prohibit:

…

(12)      Emergency medical services personnel, as defined in G.S. 131E‑155, except that emergency medical dispatchers shall not be considered emergency medical services personnel for purposes of this subdivision, who may provide emergency medical transport or emergency medical services to an injured K‑9 police unit animal or an injured certified search and rescue dog deployed by or contracted to work with a federal, State, or local agency or department at the scene of an emergency.

SECTION 1.(b)  Article 7 of Chapter 131E of the General Statutes is amended by adding a new section to read:

§ 131E‑155.2.  Emergency medical treatment for K‑9 unit or search and rescue dog; limited immunity.

Notwithstanding any other provision of law, emergency medical services personnel shall not be prosecuted for providing emergency medical transport or emergency medical services to an injured K‑9 police unit animal or an injured search and rescue dog if the emergency medical services personnel acted in good faith when providing emergency medical transport or emergency medical services to an injured K‑9 police unit animal or an injured search and rescue dog at the scene of an emergency. The immunity established by this section does not extend to gross negligence, wanton conduct, or intentional wrongdoing that would otherwise be actionable. For purposes of this section, a search and rescue dog is defined as a dog certified by any national certification organization that is deployed by or contracted to work with a federal, State, or local agency or department, and emergency medical dispatchers shall not be considered emergency medical services personnel.

SECTION 2.  This act becomes effective October 1, 2021, and applies to acts on or after that date.