Your dog may be your best friend, your family member, and mean the world to you. However, he is the one family member you can’t sue for pain and suffering as dog’s are considered property, and only worth the value paid for him. That’s about to change thanks to the outrage of family members suffering as a result the contaminated pet food crisis.
“Lawsuits filed in the last week by owners of dogs and cats felled by contaminated pet food could press lawmakers and courts to upgrade pets’ legal status. The food, produced by Menu Foods of Canada, is believed to be responsible for the deaths of dozens of dogs and cats nationwide.” With a change in the legal status of pets, they’ll be seen not as property, but as “entities like humans.”
See the LA Times, A Dog’s Life: What’s it Worth? for the full story.
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on Friday, March 30th, 2007 at 4:15 am and is filed under Big Dog News, Dogs, Animal Rights, Dog Laws.
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MDT Services Says:
April 6th, 2007 at 11:53 am
The current viewpoint seems to be that a dogs life is not as valuable as a human life. They are saying dogs are NOT a member of the family, and their death could never be compared to the death of…. say, a child.
But I put this to you…… is the world stupid? Or is the world just uninformed?
If your dog can affect your homeowners insurance rate, is the monetary rate difference not a ‘value’?
If your dogs actions ( or inaction on your part in relation to your dogs actions ) can cause you to be incarcerated, is your freedom of no ‘value’?
Your dog can affect your taxes. You could be charged with delinquent license fee’s, and various dog related exemptions can be claimed on you 1040. This means the government has placed a ‘value’ on your dog, doesn’t it?
Traffic citations have been issued for dogs riding unsecured in a motor vehicle. If their safety is of concern to law enforcement officials, does this not give their life a ‘value’?
Dog owners are offered insurance for medical expenses, dental care, and travel related issues. The costs for this insurance can equal the costs of insuring your child. Would insurance companies even offer to insure something of no ‘value’?
And finally, there are other things that must be considered when the ‘value’ of a dogs life comes in question.
Dog owners, breeders and handlers have invested years and thousands of dollars to produce perfection of bloodlines and breeds. Would you tell them they have wasted money on a thing of no ‘value’?
And think of all the disabled men, women and children whose lives are dependent on their dog. Would you tell them that the dog who helps them live a better life is considered to be worthless?
How about all the lives saved from avalanche, fire or drowning… by a dog. Or perhaps those that are injured while out in the wilderness and have been found… by a dog. Even the lost children, returned home safely… because of a dog? Are these lives that are saved of no ‘value’?
The world needs to wake up and learn why a dogs life does have ‘value’. And who are they to say that a poisoning death of a dog means so little. Perhaps those individuals who place so little value on the life of a dog should think twice before they open their mouth and shove in both feet!
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The Jakester Says:
April 14th, 2007 at 11:18 am
I am SOOOOO glad my human cooks for me and uses the same stuff she eats - and mostly organic.
What a relief to not have to worry about what I ate (well, except for the shoe and the goose poo.)
I hope other folks realize we’re not hard to cook for. Some raw meat, cooked veggies and grains - piece of cake once you got the proportions down.
speaking of cake…….. gotta’ run!
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Cynthia Blue Says:
May 15th, 2007 at 10:25 am
Yay! Well, at least one good thing is coming out of the pet food recall. IMHO, animals, human and non, are the same! Animals need more rights. 
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Dog Clothing & Dog Collars Says:
May 19th, 2007 at 12:37 pm
Agree!!!
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make your own dog food Says:
June 1st, 2007 at 12:31 am
I agree. Animals do deserve the same rights as humans. If humans can press charges against MacDonalds for making bad food, why can’t dogs do the same?
