Lines from Linda: Whose Leash is it Anyway
BY LINDA AYERS TURNER KNORR
“THE AMERICAN KENNEL CLUB IS THRILLED TO RECOGNIZE THESE DEDICATED LAW STUDENTS.”
standard creates much far fewer dis- crepancies between child custody and pet custody disputes, indicating that using it may make way for more animal rights victories in the future. However, there are several valid criticisms regarding the use of the “best interest of the pet” standard. For one, nobody knows what a pet is thinking. This is a huge stumbling block for judg- es who cannot create a record of what the pet wants, especially in cases that may be appealed. This could lead to an influx of appeals with assignments of error stating that the judge incorrectly interpreted what was in the best inter- est of the pet. Second, some would argue that this makes pet custody mat- ters too akin to child custody matters and that pets should not be given the same status as children. Third, this standard almost completely eclipses the feelings of the owners, only regarding them in the sense of what they could actually provide for the pet. In a judi- cial predicament where society is upset over courts not recognizing the bond between human and pet, this standard suggests forgetting the human side of that relationship completely only to default to trying to read a cat’s indif- ference, or a Labrador’s constant smile as a desire to be in one household over another. A CHANGE IN STATUS A solution that is often more danced around than discussed is changing the status of animals from property to something more. In several areas of the law: estate planning, criminal, fam- ily, tort and property, there is a shift towards more protections for pets. A court is usually willing to distinguish animals as something more than prop- erty, but there is rarely a discussion about what it is if it is not property. One suggestion is companion animal prop- erty. Susan J. Hankin, Current Issues in Public Policy: Not a Living Room Sofa: Changing the Legal Status of Compan- ion Animals, 4 Rutgers J.L. & Pub. Pol’y 314 (2007). Changing pet’s legal status would have a similar effect of changing the standard used on them in custody and divorce proceedings, but it would
While some jurisdictions are creating new standards to use on pets in custody disputes, they are relatively rare, unor- ganized efforts with little precedent to qualify them. Significant changes to legislation surrounding pet custody or changes in pets’ legal statuses would create a uni- form system that is applied nation or state-wide with structured guidelines and much less ambiguity. “The American Kennel Club is thrilled to recognize these dedicated law students,” said Sheila Goffe, AKC Vice President of Government Rela- tions. “The submissions were stellar and we appreciate the hard work these students put into their studies. We are excited to see where their future careers take them.” This was the second of what will now be an annual competition. AKC launched the first competition in con- junction with the AVMA, the Cat Fanci- ers Association and the Animal Health Institute as part of a joint initiative to reach out to law students—the future of our legal profession—to bring atten- tion to animal law and the concept that animal law should be more than animal rights legal philosophy. Sheila Goffe continued, “We cher- ish the canine-human bond and the fact that our relationship with our dogs is certainly unique and different from our relationship with other types of property. Negligence and cruelty laws in our current legal system provide for punishment of irresponsible or harmful actions to animals. If our relationship with our pets were to be legally consid- ered something other than ownership (such as guardianship) that could limit owners’ responsibility to care for their animals appropriately and also limit the rights of individual owners to make decisions regarding how they care for, train or work with, or even breed their animals.” In this great country of ours where brave men and women have fought to protect life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, there should be no room for hate. LET FREEDOM RING! HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY!
stretch to other areas of law, not just pet custody. The status would only apply to pets, not farm animals or animals used in labs. Id at 386. Changing the status of pets would conform with the view society has on pets already and the legal trends in pet custody and other areas of law. Id at 387. There is one enormous positive aspect of changing the legal status of pets to companion animal property: changing pets’ statuses will create a uniform standard across disciplines. Several areas of law in different jurisdictions are struggling between maintaining the status quo of a tra- ditional property analysis and mov- ing on to acknowledging to complex relationships between people and their pets. Changing the legal status of animals could provide the cathar- sis that the courts are seeking. How- ever, it would also have the benefit of being narrowly tailored to compan- ion animals, not effecting the farm or research industries. One major drawback of changing the legal status of animals would be the inevitable discontent of the veterinary community. Giving animals a new sta- tus as something more than property may discourage veterinarians from per- forming some procedures, expose them to a greater degree malpractice liability and create higher expectations in the veterinarian’s abilities to treat patient- pets. Id at 389-395. However, it may also eliminate needless euthanizing of ani- mals, which has reportedly been one of the main demoralizing events of vet- erinarians’ jobs since pets would have a more significant status and it would be more difficult for owners to throw them away. Id at 407. Another main concern is getting enough people in legislative positions to care enough to support this cause. While there is a significant movement in support of these changes, it seems to lack the mainstream support necessary to make adjustments to the status quo. CONCLUSION In the American court system, cus- tody of pets is usually determined by using a traditional property analysis.
136 • S how S ight M agazine , J uly 2018
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