‘Reba’s Bill’: lawmaker seeks to enact stricter penalties for animal cruelty

The case of Reba, a bulldog who died after being placed in a taped-shut plastic tote this summer and raised awareness of animal cruelty, could lead to change in Nevada’s laws on animal cruelty.

Assemblywoman Melissa Hardy, R-Henderson, will sponsor legislation known as “Reba’s Bill” to enact tougher penalties on animal cruelty.

In late July, the bulldog was found in a dumpster outside of a Von’s supermarket. She was alive but was found with severe breathing distress. Good Samaritans took her to a local animal hospital, where efforts to save her life were unsuccessful.

Last week, two suspects were charged with animal cruelty in connection with Reba’s death.

“People were really moved by that story and horrified,” said Hardy, who submitted the bill draft request last week, when Clark County District Attorney Steve Wolfson called for higher penalties for people convicted of animal cruelty.

For the first offense of animal cruelty, a person can be convicted of a misdemeanor and sentenced to jail for between two days and six months, up to 120 hours of community service and a maximum $1,000 fine. A second offense could result in jail between 10 days and six months, up to 200 hours of community service and a maximum $1,000 fine, according to state law.

A third offense would result in a felony charge that carries a maximum of four years in prison and a $5,000 fine.

Besides Reba, other stories of animal cruelty have cropped up, Hardy said, such as six dogs locked inside a U-Haul, and eight puppies found in a trash bag in Las Vegas.

“The community is outraged, and they want something done to the people that commit these crimes,” the Henderson assemblywoman said.

A group called Justice for Reba brought the idea to Hardy, asking if she could take up the cause to ask for stricter penalties, Hardy said.

Las Vegas resident John Waudby, the creator of the “Justice for Reba” website, reached out to Hardy about a potential bill, as she had submitted other animal cruelty related legislation in previous sessions.

“We want to go to a felony right off the gate,” Waudby said. “We have to send a message to these scumbags that if you want to hurt our animals that, ‘hey, you’re not going to do it in this state.’”

Waudby said he is angry, furious and pissed about what happened to Reba.

“This poor girl was tortured her entire life and died a violent and brutal death,” he said. “I’m furious every time I think about it. We have to do something. The lack of laws that are supposed to protect our animals are outrageous.”

Any protection that can be achieved for “our fur babies” will be worth it, Waudby said.

Details on the bill are still unclear. Hardy said she is reaching out to the district attorney’s office to see what the Legislature can do, whether that’s increasing penalties or fines or jail time or prohibiting someone from owning an animal.

The bill could also add language about whether the action was premeditated or malicious, Hardy said.

Hardy hopes for other lawmakers’ support in the session, that they can come together so “that little dog will be a force of change and protect other animals,” she said.