The PEARL Act establishes a pilot program within U.S. Customs and Border Protection to adopt dogs from local animal shelters and train them as support dogs for CBP employees. The program, officially named the "Providing Emotional Assistance with Relief and Love Act," directs the Secretary of Homeland Security to set up this initiative within 60 days of the law's enactment. The pilot program will run for three years before automatically ending, allowing CBP to evaluate whether shelter dogs can effectively serve as support animals for its workforce. This legislation affects CBP staff who may benefit from support dogs, local animal shelters that would provide adoptable dogs, and the animal welfare community. The bill does not specify funding amounts in the provided text, but it represents a federal effort to combine animal welfare with employee support services.
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