When Denis and Sarah Scheele’s dog was fatally shot after wandering onto a man’s property, they sued — and not just for damages. The couple also wanted compensation for their emotional distress and loss of companionship.
Their case is one of a growing number around the country that asks courts to recognize what dog owners already do: that man’s best friend is worth more than its retail price.
“When you lose something like that, the loss is immeasurable,” said Sarah Scheele, 47. “You can’t just go to a pet store and buy another animal. It doesn’t replace the family member that was lost.”
Historically, courts have allowed people suing over the death of an animal to collect such expenses as its purchase price and veterinary bills.
“Courts look at market value, and I don’t think that reflects society’s values,” said the couple’s attorney, Heidi Groff.
A judge ruled in the Scheeles’ civil suit that there is no provision in Vermont law that would allow them to recover damages for the loss of Shadow’s companionship or for emotional distress.
The couple plan to appeal to the state Supreme Court.
“What we’re trying to do is expand the law to recognize that the companionship between a dog and its owner is such that the owner is entitled to compensation” when that relationship is destroyed, said David Putter, an attorney hired to help with the appeal.
Though the attorneys acknowledge it’s a novel legal theory, noting that people can’t sue for loss of companionship in the deaths of best friends or domestic partners, they want an exception for four-legged friends.
In recent years, trial courts in Florida, New York, Illinois, California,
Oregon and Washington have carved out a category for pets that is somewhere
between property and people.
Rejected puppy welcomed into feline family
A pug puppy rejected by his mother has found a new, more welcoming family — a cat and her three kittens.
Kelly Kent, of Connellsville, said her 2-year-old cat, Zoey, has been nursing a black pug puppy since he was rejected by his mother in late March. Zoey doesn't usually like dogs but seems to have made an exception, Kent said.
The puppy, who belongs to Kent's neighbor, is about the same size as Zoey's kittens and regularly lines up for milk with his adopted feline siblings.
It is not unusual for mothers to adopt in nature, even if the baby is of another species, said William Shepherd, a Uniontown veterinarian. Shepherd said a puppy can drink a cat's milk, but warned that Zoey might not be able to produce enough as the young pug gets older and bigger.
The pug puppy, the runt of his litter, doesn't yet have a name.
Lost cat to reunite with owner after 10 years
Sneakers the cat is being reunited with his owner, hundreds of miles away from where the feline disappeared in 1996.
The long-haired black cat was given to Sacramento's Animal Care Services last week, where an employee scanned him for a microchip, a routine procedure.
The number on the chip was used to track down Allison MacEwan of Seattle, who said she placed newspaper ads and went door-to-door with fliers in a futile search for her lost cat a decade ago.
Officials on Wednesday said they aren't sure how the cat wound up in Sacramento.
MacEwan's daughter was 4 years old when her cat disappeared.
Officials said she is now looking forward to being reunited with her childhood pet.
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