House committee substitute to the 1st edition makes the following changes.

Amends the criteria for what constitutes a retired law enforcement canine under GS 143-166.91 (definitions for new Article 12I) so that in order to qualify under the statute, the dog would have been in the service of or owned (was, employed by) an qualified agency and retired on or after July 1, 2024 (currently, no date is specified). Expands the type of qualifying activities to include detection of explosives or narcotics and includes these activities in the certification requirement of the definition. Amends GS 143-166.92, (reimbursement) so that the cap on the reimbursement for veterinary care is $1,500 per fiscal year (was, calendar year) and that the owner must seek reimbursement within 90 days of the date of the veterinary care received by the retired law enforcement canine (was, reimbursement must be for care occurring in the calendar year).

Amends GS 17F-21 (disposition of retired service animals) to specify that the statute does not prevent the owner of a retired law enforcement canine from applying for reimbursement for veterinary care for a retired law enforcement canine under new Article 12I.

Makes technical and organizational changes.