Mich. Comp. Laws » Michigan Compiled Laws / Chapter 333 / Act 368 of 1978
Michigan Compiled Laws

Mich. Comp. Laws § 333.18838 (2026)

Disposal of abandoned animal; notices; costs; relinquishment of rights by owner.

✓ current as of July 2026
Find cases: SyfertCases citing this section MI-LEGlegislature.mi.gov JustiaChapter on Justia CornellLII Search CasesGoogle Scholar

PUBLIC HEALTH CODE


Act 368 of 1978


333.18838 Disposal of abandoned animal; notices; costs; relinquishment of rights by owner.

Sec. 18838.

    (1) A veterinarian may dispose of an animal placed in the veterinarian's custody for treatment, boarding, or other care and abandoned by its owner by sending the notices required by this section. The veterinarian shall send a first written notice of an intent to dispose of the animal by certified mail to the owner, at his or her last known address and a second written notice not less than 5 days after sending the first notice. Upon the expiration of 5 days after sending the second written notice to the owner, a veterinarian may dispose of the animal.

    (2) The disposal of an animal does not release the owner from payment of costs incurred, including the disposal.

    (3) This section does not prevent the owner or agent from mitigating additional costs by removing the animal from custody of the veterinarian.

    (4) In the case of an animal abandoned by its owner, the owner is considered to have relinquished all rights to the animal.

History: 1978, Act 368, Eff. Sept. 30, 1978 ;-- Am. 2000, Act 22, Imd. Eff. Mar. 13, 2000

PopularName Notes:

Act 368
Notes of Decisions
Cited in 5 cases, 1983–2018 · leading case: Attorney Gen. v. Bruce, 369 N.W.2d 826 (Mich. 1985).
Sort: Relevance Newest Treatment
Attorney Gen. v. Bruce, 369 N.W.2d 826 (Mich. 1985). · cites it 2× “15(16101), through MCL 333.18838; MSA 14.15(18838), and citing the following pertinent provisions: A board may request and receive the following reports and shall evaluate the reports, determine whether grounds for disciplinary action exists, and apply appropriate sanctions: (a)…”
Nathan Murphy-Dubay v. Dept of Licensing & Regulatory Affairs, 876 N.W.2d 598 (Mich. Ct. App. 2015). · cites it 2× “16101 to MCL 333.18838] shall meet all of the following requirements: (c) Have a specific education or experience in the health profession or in a health profession subfield or health profession specialty field of the health profession, or training equivalent, or both, as…”
Attorney Gen. v. Bruce, 335 N.W.2d 697 (Mich. Ct. App. 1983). “15(16101) through MCL 333.18838; MSA 14.15(18838), which provides in part: "A board may request and receive the following reports and shall evaluate the reports, determine whether grounds for disciplinary action exist, and apply appropriate sanctions: "(a) Information from a…”
Susan Iskenderian v. Lindsey Wurtzel Dds (Mich. Ct. App. 2018). “16101 to MCL 333.18838); MCL 333.16601(c) and MCL 333.”
Susan Iskenderian v. Lindsey Wurtzel Dds (Mich. Ct. App. 2018). “16101 to MCL 333.18838); MCL 333.16601(c) and MCL 333.”
Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.