10/02/2026
Biscuit's Bill, a new bill that will allow dogs seized from abuse to live outside of shelters while their owners' legal case goes through the courts, has passed in Utah.
The Bill is named after a Pit Bull named Biscuit. For three long years, a dog named Biscuit waited inside a shelter.
She had already survived abuse. She had already been rescued. But because her case was tied up in the legal system, Biscuit became something else in the eyes of the law — property under a court hold. And that meant she couldn’t leave the shelter.
So while her owner’s criminal case slowly moved through the courts, Biscuit remained in legal limbo.
Seized when she was one year old, she spent the next two years inside a kennel at Salt Lake County’s animal shelter — up to 20 hours a day, alone, in a small, cramped space.
And her story isn’t unique.
Right now in Utah, animals who are impounded in cruelty cases can remain in shelters for months… even years… waiting for legal decisions. It’s a heavy burden on shelters and taxpayers — but even more so, it takes a heartbreaking mental and emotional toll on the animals and the people caring for them.
That’s what makes what happened next so important.
Biscuit's Bill is changing all of that — giving dogs like Biscuit a chance to heal sooner, not wait endlessly.
Sponsored by Rep. Verona Mauga, the bill creates a process that allows a judge to review an animal’s placement early in a case, instead of forcing them to stay in a shelter until everything is resolved.
“When someone is charged with animal abuse, the criminal case can take months or even years to resolve,” Mauga said. “During that time, the animal involved often remains in a shelter with no clear legal mechanism to determine long-term placement. This places a strain on already overcrowded shelters, impacts the well-being of the animal, and can become a significant burden on taxpayers.”
Had this law been in place when Biscuit was rescued, things could have been very different.
The shelter could have asked a judge, at the very first hearing, to decide whether she should be placed in foster care or adopted.
This would have saved Biscuit over 1,000 days at the shelter and over $20,000 in taxpayer dollars for her care.
Instead, she waited.
But her story doesn’t end there.
A volunteer named Alexis Schulof, who had spent time with Biscuit at the shelter, eventually adopted her — finally giving her the life she had been waiting for. And now, Biscuit’s story is helping change the future for others.
“Biscuit isn’t just a name on a bill,” Schulof said. “She represents thousands of dogs who have survived abuse, only to be failed by the system meant to protect them.”
The bill, HB87, has now passed the Utah Legislature after falling short last year — a major step forward for animals across the state.
If signed into law, it will allow abused animals to be fostered or adopted while their cases are still ongoing — getting them out of cages and into loving homes sooner.
A win for shelters.
A win for taxpayers.
And most importantly… a win for dogs like Biscuit.
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